Vision of nuclear physics with photo-nuclear reactions by laser-driven γ beams

A laser-accelerated dense electron sheet with an energy \(E=\tilde{\gamma} mc^2\) can be used as a relativistic mirror to coherently reflect a second laser with photon energy ħω, thus generating by the Doppler boost [A. Einstein, Annalen der Physik 17, 891 (1905); D. Habs et al., Appl. Phys. B 93, 349 (2008)] brilliant high-energy photon beams with \(\hbar\omega^{\prime}=4\tilde{\gamma}^2\hbar\omega\) and short duration for many new nuclear physics experiments. While the shortest-lived atomic levels are in the atto-second range, nuclear levels can have lifetimes down to zeptoseconds. We discuss how the modulation of electron energies in phase-locked laser fields used for as-measurements [E. Goulielmakis et al., Science 317, 769 (2007)] can be carried over to the new direct measurement of fs–zs nuclear lifetimes by modulating the energies of accompanying conversion electrons or emitted protons. In the field of nuclear spectroscopy we discuss the new perspective as a function of increasing photon energy. In nuclear systems a much higher sensitivity is predicted to the time variation of fundamental constants compared to atomic systems [V. Flambaum, arXiv:nucl-th/0801.1994v1 (2008)]. For energies up to 50 keV Mossbauer-like recoilless absorption allows to produce nuclear bosonic ensembles with many delocalized coherent polaritons [G.V. Smirnov et al., Phys. Rev. A 71, 023804 (2005)] for the first time. Using the (γ,n) reaction to produce cold, polarized neutrons with a focusing ellipsoidal device [P. Boni, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A 586, 1 (2008); Ch. Schanzer et al., Nucl. Instrum. Meth. 529, 63 (2004)], brilliant cold polarized micro-neutron beams become available. The compact and relatively cheap laser-generated γ beams may serve for extended studies at university-based facilities.