Related papers: Proposal for a Nuclear Gamma-Ray Laser of Optical …
Laser-induced nuclear recollisions following $\alpha$ decay in the presence of an intense laser field are investigated theoretically. We show that while an intense optical laser does not influence notably the tunneling rate in $\alpha$…
The $\gamma$-ray strength function, or average reduced $\gamma$-ray transition probability, is a fundamental input in the calculation of $(n,\gamma)$ cross sections used to simulate the nucleosynthesis of elements heavier than Fe. Since…
$^{229}$Th is the only nucleus currently under investigation for the development of a nuclear optical clock (NOC) of ultra-high accuracy. The insufficient knowledge of the first nuclear excitation energy of $^{229}$Th has so far hindered…
Recent data from ATIC, CREAM and PAMELA indicate that the cosmic ray energy spectra of protons and nuclei exhibit a remarkable hardening at energies above 100 GeV per nucleon. We propose that the hardening is an interstellar propagation…
Guiding relativistically intense laser pulses in low-density plasmas enables extended acceleration lengths in laser-plasma accelerators (LPAs), allowing for the production of multi-GeV electron beams. Quantitative interpretation of such…
A low-energy nuclear transition in the isotope thorium-229 has been excited in thorium-doped crystals with laser light. This opens the perspective towards a highly stable and robust solid-state optical nuclear clock. The required laser…
Scattering relativistic electrons with optical lasers can result in a significant frequency upshift for the photons, potentially producing $\gamma$-rays. This is what linear Compton scattering taught us. Ultra-intense lasers offer nowadays…
Absorption induced transparency is an optical phenomenon that occurs in metallic arrays of nanoholes when materials featuring narrow lines in their absorption spectra are deposited on top of it. First reported in the visible range, using…
Ultrahigh energy protons and nuclei from extragalactic cosmic ray sources initiate intergalactic electromagnetic cascades, resulting in observable fluxes of $\gamma$-rays in the GeV-TeV energy domain. The total spectrum of such cascade…
The observed spectra of blazars, their intrinsic emission, and the underlying populations of radiating particles are intimately related. The use of these sources as probes of the extragalactic infrared background, a prospect propelled by…
We present a probable experimental signature of collective enhancement in the nuclear level density (NLD) by measuring the neutron and the giant dipole resonance (GDR) $\gamma$ rays emitted from the rare earth $^{169}$Tm compound nucleus…
We consider the galactic population of gamma-ray pulsars as possible sources of cosmic rays at and just above the ``knee'' in the observed cosmic ray spectrum at $10^{15}$--$10^{16}$ eV. We suggest that iron nuclei may be accelerated in the…
We study thorium-doped CaF$_2$ crystals as a possible platform for optical spectroscopy of the Th-229 nuclear isomer transition. We anticipate two major sources of background signal that might cover the nuclear spectroscopy signal:…
The precision measurement and discovery potential of a neutrino factory based on a storage ring of boosted radioactive ions ($\beta$-beam) is re-examined. In contrast with past designs, which assume ion $\gamma$ factors of $\sim 100$ and…
Classical novae produce radioactive nuclei which are emitters of gamma-rays in the MeV range. Some examples are the lines at 478 and 1275 keV (from 7Be and 22Na) and the positron-electron annihilation emission, with the 511 keV line and a…
Galaxy clusters can be sources of high-energy (HE) $\gamma$-ray radiation, due to the efficient acceleration of particles exceeding EeV energies. At present, though, the only candidate for emitting HE $\gamma$-rays is the Coma cluster,…
It is suggested that the persistent X-ray emission from the soft gamma-ray repeaters is the thermal radiation of neutron stars which is enhanced by a factor of 10 or more due to the effect of a very strong magnetic field on the thermal…
We consider the potential benefits of searching for supersymmetric dark-matter through its inelastic excitation, via the "scalar current", of low-lying collective nuclear states in a detector. If such states live long enough so that the…
Nuclear reactions induced by a strong zeptosecond laser pulse are studied theoretically in the quasiadiabatic regime where the photon absorption rate is comparable to the nuclear equilibration rate. We find that multiple photon absorption…
The most probable candidate for the role of a nuclear optical standard is the 8.338-eV isomer of the 229mTh isotope of the thorium nucleus. Ways of using the resonance properties of the electron shell as an optical resonator to create…