Nuclear data at high energy: Experiment, theory and applications

High energy nuclear data are required in various fields such as astrophysics, radioactive ion beam production, spallation neutron sources or accelerator-driven systems for the transmutation of nuclear waste. In this paper, the data needed for the different applications are emphasized. The basic physics of the spallation reaction is discussed and the most commonly used models and high energy transport codes are described. A review of some recent experimental results, concerning both microscopic and integral data, compared to different models and codes is presented. (author)