Bound state techniques to solve the multiparticle scattering problem

The solution of the scattering problem turns out to be a very difficult task both from the formal as well as from the computational point of view. If the last two decades have witnessed decisive progress in ab initio bound state calculations, a rigorous solution of the scattering problem remains limited to the A <= 4 case. Therefore there is a rising interest to apply bound-state-like methods to handle nonrelativistic scattering problems. In this article the latest theoretical developments in this field are reviewed. Five fully rigorous methods will be discussed, which address the problem of nuclear collisions in full extent (including the break-up problem) at the same time avoiding treatment of the complicate boundary conditions or integral kernel singularities. These new developments allow us to use modern bound-state techniques to advance significantly rigorous solution of the scattering problem. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.