  Applications of QCD sum-rule methods to the physics of nuclei are reviewed,
with an emphasis on calculations of baryon self-energies in infinite nuclear
matter. The sum-rule approach relates spectral properties of hadrons
propagating in the finite-density medium, such as optical potentials for
quasinucleons, to matrix elements of QCD composite operators (condensates). The
vacuum formalism for QCD sum rules is generalized to finite density, and the
strategy and implementation of the approach is discussed. Predictions for
baryon self-energies are compared to those suggested by relativistic nuclear
physics phenomenology. Sum rules for vector mesons in dense nuclear matter are
also considered.
