Ryszard Raczka - Böcker

The 23 review lectures in this volume were presented by prominent specialists in the field. The scope is wide: major trends in gauge field theory and its applications are covered. A considerable part of the articles contain previously unpublished results.

In the four years since the first Trieste Meeting on Spin and Polarization Dynamics in Nuclear and Particle Physics, considerable progress has been made both in the theoretical and experimental aspects of this field. The polarization phenomena have given rise to many more detailed and crucial tests which enhance our understanding of particle physics. New information can also be uncovered in the process of conducting the various tests. For this reason, considerable efforts have been put into the present and future accelerators to extend the experimental data to measure polarization asymmetries for both polarized targets and polarized scattered and produced particles. The 2nd Adriatico Research Conference held in January 1992 brought together both theorists and experimentalists who presented many new findings. These findings have been compiled into this compact volume to give a complete picture of the wide range of theoretical and experimental problems, difficulties, results, prospects and hopes which are at the core of particle physics studies today. It will be a useful guide for the present status of polarization phenomena and their fundamental implications.