These proceedings present the most up-to-date status of deep inelastic scattering (DIS) physics. Topics such as structure function measurements and phenomenology, quantum chromodynamics (QCD) studies in DIS and photoproduction, spin physics and diffractive interactions are reviewed in detail, with emphasis on those studies that push the test of QCD and the Standard Model to the limits of their present range of validity, towards both the very high and the very low four-momentum transfers in leptonproton scattering.

This workshop is the fourth of a series initiated in Durham (March 93), followed by Eilat (February 94) and Paris (April 95). The large interest and the great inflow of experimental data, coming mainly from HERA, are some of the reasons behind the decision to have this annual meeting, presently the most important one for this area of research. During the workshop, experimental results and theoretical aspects have been reported on subjects, which have been organised by working groups on: 1) hadron structure functions; 2) photoproduction and photon structure; 3) diffractive interactions; 4) hadronic final states; 5) spin effects in lepton nucleon scattering; 6) special session on theoretical advances. While the contributions to the working groups offer hot material for specialists, the reports by the conveners, as well as other contributions to the plenary sessions, offer to nonspecialists a complete overview of this research field.

This volume focusses on four main topics: structure functions, tests of quantum chromodynamics, physics at the highest Q2 and p2T, and high energy scattering and diffraction. Comprehensive review articles on hadronic and photon structure, lepton-parton and parton-parton physics as well as future experimental opportunities are presented, together with a special lecture on HERA's legacy after the first decade of operation.

The Lepton-Photon symposiums ? as represented by the contributions in this volume ? are among the most popular conferences in high energy physics since they give an in-depth snapshots of the status of the field as provided by leading experts.The volume covers the latest results on flavor factories, quantum chromodynamics (QCD), electroweak physics, dark matter searches, neutrino physics and cosmology, from a phenomenological point of view. It also offers a glimpse of the immediate future of the field through summaries on the status of the next generation of high energy accelerators and planned facilities for astroparticle physics.The review nature of the articles makes the volume particularly useful to students, as well as being of interest to established researches in high-energy physics and related fields.

Experts on elementary-particle physics, both theorists and experimentalists, met to present their latest results on the various aspects of HERA physics, specifically, the H1 and ZEUS collaborations at HERA and the collaborations at LEP and the Tevatron were presented. The topics included: proton structure function; polarized "ep" scattering; final states in deep-inelastic scattering (DIS), with special emphasis on jet production at low x, power corrections in DIS, soft particle production, and instanton effects; photon structure function; photoproduction of jets and hadrons; heavy-flavour and charmonium production; elastic and diffractive ep scattering; and new physics at HERA.

The proceedings of this workshop gather the latest experimental results from HERA and capture new trends in HERA phenomenology. Although the presentations are by experts, they are suitable for both theoreticians and experimentalists. H1 members also cover ZEUS results and vice versa. This volume serves to point out existing discrepancies between experimental data and theoretical predictions and to identify projects to take on in the future.

The Lepton-Photon symposiums — as represented by the contributions in this volume — are among the most popular conferences in high energy physics since they give an in-depth snapshots of the status of the field as provided by leading experts.The volume covers the latest results on flavor factories, quantum chromodynamics (QCD), electroweak physics, dark matter searches, neutrino physics and cosmology, from a phenomenological point of view. It also offers a glimpse of the immediate future of the field through summaries on the status of the next generation of high energy accelerators and planned facilities for astroparticle physics.The review nature of the articles makes the volume particularly useful to students, as well as being of interest to established researches in high-energy physics and related fields.