Expanding Nuclear Physics Horizons with the Gamma Factory

TL;DR

The Gamma Factory at CERN proposes a high-intensity, high-energy gamma photon source that could revolutionize nuclear physics research by providing unprecedented photon fluxes and energies.

Contribution

This paper surveys the potential applications of the Gamma Factory, highlighting its novel capabilities for high-energy photon production in nuclear physics.

Findings

Potential for photon energies up to 400 MeV.

Photon fluxes exceeding 10^17 photons per second.

Monochromatization achievable to 1 ppm level.

Abstract

The Gamma Factory (GF) is an ambitious proposal, currently explored within the CERN Physics Beyond Colliders program, for a source of photons with energies up to $\approx 400\,$MeV and photon fluxes (up to $\approx 10^{17}$ photons per second) exceeding those of the currently available gamma sources by orders of magnitude. The high-energy (secondary) photons are produced via resonant scattering of the primary laser photons by highly relativistic partially-stripped ions circulating in the accelerator. The secondary photons are emitted in a narrow cone and the energy of the beam can be monochromatized, eventually down to the $\approx1$ ppm level, via collimation, at the expense of the photon flux. This paper surveys the new opportunities that may be afforded by the GF in nuclear physics and related fields.