The deuteron properties

The low energy deuteron parameters are discusssed in view of their physical information and their constraints on the description of the deuteron in terms of more exotic subsystems. Important recent progress has recently been achieved on the understanding of the root mean square radius, the quadrupole moment, the D/S parameter and the asymptotic S state amplitude. There is a strong model-independent interlinkage of various quantities, which holds independent of the detailed model. Strong evidence is found for quantitative dominance of pionic interactions, particularly for the D/S ratio and quadrupole moment. (orig.)