The quantum molecular dynamics approach

Medium energy heavy ion reactions are a quite new branch of nuclear physics. It only became possible, at the beginning of the seventies, to accelerate heavy ions to energies larger than 50 MeV/n at the BEVELAC at Berkeley and at the Synchrophasoton in DUBNA. The field, however, turned out to be so exciting that since then many new accelerators have been built at which the different aspects of the field are investigated. Various reasons for the importance of the field of research are explained and the Quantum Molecular Dynamics approach is explained. (author)