Spin-dependent inelastic electron scattering from polarized He is studied. The theoretical description uses the plane-wave impulse approximation. A spin-dependent spectral function, which summarizes all of the nuclear structure information on the process, is introduced. The formalism is developed for inclusive processes in all kinematic regimes of inelastic electron scattering. A comparison between theoretical predictions and experimental data is carried out in the region of quasifree scattering. The use of a polarized 'He target as a neutron spin target is discussed.

We construct a family of equations of state within a quasiparticle model by relating pressure, energy density, baryon density, and susceptibilities adjusted to first-principles lattice QCD calculations. The relation between pressure and energy density from lattice QCD is surprisingly insensitive to details of the simulations. Effects from different lattice actions, quark masses, and lattice spacings used in the simulations show up mostly in the quark-hadron phase transition region, which we bridge over by a set of interpolations to a hadron resonance gas equation of state. Within our optimized quasiparticle model we then examine the equation of state along isentropic expansion trajectories at small net baryon densities, as relevant for experiments and hydrodynamic simulations at RHIC and LHC energies. We illustrate its impact on azimuthal flow anisotropies and on the transverse momentum spectra of various hadron species.

Abstract. We confront our quasi-particle model for the equation of state of strongly interacting matter with recent first-principle QCD calculations. In particular, we test its applicability at finite baryon densities by comparing with Taylor expansion coefficients of the pressure for two quark flavours. We outline a chain of approximations starting from the Φ-functional approach to QCD which motivates the quasi-particle picture.

Open charm mesons (pseudo-scalar and scalar as well as axial-vector and vector) propagating or resting in nuclear matter display an enhanced sensitivity to the chiral condensate. This offers new prospects for seeking signals of chiral restoration, in particular in pA and reactions as envisaged in first-round experiments by the CBM and PANDA collaborations at FAIR. Weinberg-type sum rules for charming chiral partners are presented, and the distinct in-medium modifications of open-charm mesons are discussed. We also address the gluon condensates near Tc and their impact on QCD sum rules.

The pion-exchange contribution to the electromagnetic current of the deuteron is calculated perturbatively in the context of a field-theoretical approach on the light front. The deuteron charge and magnetic and quadrupole form factors are calculated for the Paris and Bonn-B two-nucleon potential models. The description of the experimental deuteron charge form factor is improved for both potentials models over the impulse approximation. ͓S0556-2813͑96͒02811-7͔