These proceedings comprise the contents of a major international conference on Perspectives of the Interacting Boson Model. Occasioned by the 20th Anniversary of this model, and attended by approx. 130 scientists from 29 countries, the topics focused on current and future research, which relates to the IBM. This model has now become one of the standard approaches to nuclear structure and has helped usher in a renaissance in that field and a new, unified perspective that focuses on dynamical symmetries and the key role of the valence nucleons. The algebraic approach fostered by the model is being extended to other fields, including nuclear reactions, molecular physics and baryon structure.

This seminar focuses on recent achievements and new goals of nuclear structure in both experiment and theory. Several topics at the forefront of current research in this field are covered by major experts. The main themes are: exotic nuclei; the present role and perspectives of the shell model; modes of excitation in deformed and superdeformed nuclei; and nuclear astrophysics.

The problem of particle transport in extended systems is addressed in this book. It has important implications from both the conceptual and applied points of view. A community of researchers from different disciplines and fields is actively engaged in studying this problem, often using similar methodologies. The main subjects covered in this book are relevant to nonlinear diffusion in plasmas and to transport dynamics in accelerators and free electron lasers.