The bootstrap for impact factors and the gluon wave function

Using the results recently obtained for the non-forward quark and gluon imp act factors, it is shown that their form in the gluon colour channel is con sistent with the "third bootstrap condition", namely, that they should be p roportional to the gluon wave function. The gluon wave function found from this assumption is used to write the fun bootstrap condition for the gluoni c potential in the next-to-leading order. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Sc ience B.V. All rights reserved.