Nuclear structure studies on exotic nuclei by direct reactions in inverse kinematics

The new heavy-ion facilities at GSI Darmstadt allow to investigate light ion induced direct reactions on nuclei in the region away from stability using good quality exotic beams in inverse kinematics. In the present contribution a survey on the physics program addressing a variety of questions in nuclear- and astrophysics is given and the experimental concept is discussed. Special care is given to a comparison of the conditions for cooled and stored exotic beams interacting with an integral target of the heavy-ion storage ring to those for the exotic beams interacting with an external target. Finally, the results of first experiments, as well as the status of new experimental developments, are displayed. (orig.)