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Scattering of light nuclei

The exact treatment of nuclei starting from the constituent nucleons and the fundamental interactions among them has been a long-standing goal in nuclear physics. Above all nuclear scattering and reactions, which require the solution of the many-body quantum-mechanical problem in the continuum, represent an extraordinary theoretical as well as computational challenge for {\em ab initio} approaches. We present a new {\em ab initio} many-body approach which derives from the combination of the {\em ab initio} no-core shell model with the resonating-group method [4]. By complementing a microscopic cluster technique with the use of realistic interactions, and a microscopic and consistent description of the nucleon clusters, this approach is capable of describing simultaneously both bound and scattering states in light nuclei. We will discuss applications to neutron and proton scattering on $s$- and light $p$-shell nuclei using realistic nucleon-nucleon potentials, and outline the progress toward the treatment of more complex reactions.