POMERON AND QCD - PHYSICS AT LOW-X

A connection between small-x deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) and high- energy hadron interactions is discussed. The properties of the Pomeron in QCD are considered, and the importance of multi-Pomeron exchanges for the supercritical Pomeron is emphasized. It is argued that, in DIS , these contributions are much less important and that the energy depe ndence of the structure function in DIS is determined by bare-Pomeron exchange. It is shown that the model based on these ideas is in perfec t agreement with recent results from HERA. Diffractive production in D IS is discussed, and it is emphasized that both quarks and gluons in t he Pomeron have hard distributions. Shadowing corrections to the nucle on structure function are calculated and found to be small in the regi on x > 10(-4). Good agreement with experimental data on the shadowing of structure functions of nuclei is obtained. It is shown that investi gation of hadronic final states in DIS can furnish important informati on about the dynamics of this process. Predictions for the inclusive s pectra and multiplicity distributions of final hadrons in DIS are form ulated and compared with experimental data.