Speaker
Description
A relativistic beam of partially-stripped ions can be irradiated with a laser whose frequency is tuned to a resonant atomic transition which will subsequently de-excite. This mechanism allows one to obtain a $\gamma$-source of an unprecedented brilliance and intensity. The Gamma Factory proposed at the LHC is able to produce up to $10^{18}$ photons per second (7 orders of magnitude beyond the existing sources) with the energy up to 400 MeV, not accessible for FEL sources. A tunable, 100% polarized $\gamma$-source of such intensity will furnish us with a versatile tool to significantly improve our understanding of known phenomena, and to study tiny effects that until now have been prohibitively small. The proof of principle experiment at the SPS@CERN will produce $10^{15}$ $\gamma$/s with the energy of up to 44 keV for a variety of exciting applications in atomic and nuclear physics, and is in preparation. The same principle can be applied at other facilities, such as future EIC or FAIR. I give an overview of the reach of the Gamma Factory in hadron and nuclear physics.
