Microscopic Models of Heavy Ion Interactions

An introduction to dynamical microscopic models of hadronic and nuclear interactions is presented. Special emphasis is put in the relation between multiparticle production and total cross-section contributions. In heavy ion collisions, some observables, considered as signals of the production of a Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP), are studied. It is shown that they can only be described if final state interactions are introduced. It is argued that the cross-sections required are too small to drive the system to thermal equilibrium within the duration time of the final state interaction.