Expanding Nuclear Physics Horizons with the Gamma Factory

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 approximate to 400 MeV and photon fluxes (up to approximate to 10(17) photons s(-1)) 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, down to 10(-3)-10(-6) 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.

Automated summary

The Gamma Factory is an ambitious proposal within the CERN Physics Beyond Colliders program, aiming to provide high-energy photon sources with significantly higher photon fluxes than currently available gamma sources. The factory produces high-energy photons through resonant scattering and allows monochromatization of the beam energy through collimation.