Quark degrees of freedom in nuclei

The problem of treating quark degrees of freedom in the nuclear many-body problem is discussed in terms of the Fock-Tani method. This method was originally developed for applications in atomic and molecular physics to investigate physical problems where the internal degrees of freedom of atoms and molecules can not be neglected. Given a microscopic Hamiltonian in terms of quark degrees of freedom, it is possible to derive an effective Hamiltonian in terms of nucleon and meson degrees of freedom. To explain the formalism, I use a simple quark model where quarks interact by means of two-body forces and the nucleus are described as bound states of three quarks. Perspectives for realistic applications of the formalism in low-energy hadronic physics are discussed. (author). 22 refs, 3 figs