  We employ the Unitary Correlation Operator Method (UCOM) to construct
correlated, low-momentum matrix elements of realistic nucleon-nucleon
interactions. The dominant short-range central and tensor correlations induced
by the interaction are included explicitly by an unitary transformation. Using
correlated momentum-space matrix elements of the Argonne V18 potential, we show
that the unitary transformation eliminates the strong off-diagonal
contributions caused by the short-range repulsion and the tensor interaction,
and leaves a correlated interaction dominated by low-momentum contributions. We
use correlated harmonic oscillator matrix elements as input for no-core shell
model calculations for few-nucleon systems. Compared to the bare interaction,
the convergence properties are dramatically improved. The bulk of the binding
energy can already be obtained in very small model spaces or even with a single
Slater determinant. Residual long-range correlations, not treated explicitly by
the unitary transformation, can easily be described in model spaces of moderate
size allowing for fast convergence. By varying the range of the tensor
correlator we are able to map out the Tjon line and can in turn constrain the
optimal correlator ranges.
