The Atomic Nucleus as a Relativistic System

1 Introduction.- 2 Relativistic Quantum Mechanics and Fields.- 3 Basic Features of the Meson Theory of Nucleon—Nucleon Interactions.- 4 The Relativistic Mean-Field Approximation for Nuclear Structure.- 5 Electromagnetic Interactions of Nucleons in the Relativistic Framework.- 6 The Relativistic Approach to Nucleon—Nucleus Scattering.- 7 Pion Dynamics and Chiral Symmetry.- 8 The Relativistic Hartree—Fock Approach.- 9 Brueckner—Hartree—Fock Methods for Nuclear Matter and Finite Nuclei.- 10 Excited Nuclear States in the Relativistic RPA Method.- 11 The Equation of State of Nuclear Matter for Supernovas and Neutron Stars.- 12 Alternative Relativistic Models.- 13 Some Recent Applications of Relativistic Nuclear Theory.- 14 Summary and Outlook.- A Appendices.- A.1 Four-Dimensional Notation and the Dirac Matrices.- A.2 Properties of the Ground State of Nuclear Matter in the Walecka Model.- A.3 General Form of Local Dirac Equation.- A.4 Equivalent Local Dirac Nuclear Models.- A.5 Nucleon Effective Mass in the Nuclear Medium.- A.7 Boundary Conditions for Wave Functions and Meson Potentials.- A.8 Generalized Weinberg Transformation.- A.9 Expansions of the Vertex Functions for Various Mesons.- A.10 Globally Chirally Invariant Lagrangian for the Model with an Axial Meson.- A.11 Direct and Exchange Matrix Elements for the Two-Body Spin—Orbit Force.- A.12 Hartree—Fock Procedure for the Point-Coupling Model.- References.