A NEW APPROACH TO DEVELOPING GAMMA-RAY LASER
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17770/etr2025vol4.8388Keywords:
gamma-ray, laser, nuclei, powerAbstract
A laser can greatly increase its power if the radiation comes from the atomic nucleus. The reason is that gamma rays, which are in the high-energy electromagnetic spectrum, come by their nature from the transition between excited to lower nuclear levels, as opposed to electromagnetic waves produced by atoms. The subject of this work is the development of a gamma laser (Graser). The first step is to excite the nuclei of certain isotopes to a higher-energy nuclear state. The excitation method used here is bombarding the nuclei with neutrons. Some isomeric nuclei, known as metastable, can remain excited for a relatively long time, which is what one is looking for. When an external source stimulates these excited nuclei, they can release their stored energy via gamma rays. The emitted gamma rays are modified to produce a coherent laser beam. This work traces the century-long achievement in the field of laser creation after numerous successful solutions and passing through the recoilless Mössbauer emission from the solid crystal lattice. However, scientists have not been able to create a Grasser due to controversial conditions. This article presents a new method, somewhat unconventional, designed to solve the so-called "Graser dilemma". This can be done by shifting the crystal lattice during the neutron bombarding. The technology has the potential to create extremely powerful lasers that can be used in various applications, including laser weapons.References
A. Einstein, On the Quantum Theory of Radiation. Physik Zeitschr. JJ3, 121-128, 1917.
J. Gordon, H. Zeiger and C.Townes, Molecular Microwave Oscillator and New Hyperfine Structure in the Microwave Spectrum of NH3: Phys. Rev. 95, 282, 1954.
J. Gordon, H. Zeiger, and C. Townes, The Maser - New Type of Microwave Amplifier, Frequency Standard, and Spectrometer. Phys. Rev. 99, 1264, 1955.
T. Maiman, Stimulated Optical Radiation in Ruby. Nature, 187(4736), 493–494, 1960.
T. Maiman, Spectroscopy and Stimulated Emission in Ruby. Phys. Rev. 123, 1151 – 1157, 1961.
T. Maiman, Stimulated Optical Radiation in Ruby. Essentials of Lasers, 134–136, 1969.
G. Baldwin, Is There a High Frequency Limit to Laser Action? Laser Interaction and Related Plasma Phenomena. Vol. 3B. pp. 875–888, 1974.
V. Vali and W. Vali, Induced gamma y-ray emission. Proceedings of the IEEE. 51 (1): 182–184, 1963.
V. Letokhov, On the problem of the nuclear-transition gamma-laser. Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics. 37 (5): 787–793, 1973.
P. Kamenov and T. Bonchev, On the possibility of realizing a gamma laser with long-living isomer nuclei. Bolgarskaia Akademiia Nauk, Doklady. 28 (9): 1175–1177, 1975.
Yu. Il'inskii and R. Khokhlov, On the possibility of observation of stimulated gamma radiation. Soviet Physics Uspekhi. 16 (4): 565–567, 1974.
Yu. Il'inskii and R. Khokhlov, Possibility of creating a gamma-laser. Radiophysics and Quantum Electronics. 19 (6): 561–567, 1976.
G. Baldwin, On the Feasibility of Grasers. Laser Interaction and Related Plasma Phenomena. Vol. 4A. pp. 249–257, 1977.
R. Mössbauer, Kernresonanzfluoreszenz von Gammastrahlung in Ir191. Zeitschrift für Physik A (in German). 151 (2): 124–143, 1958.
H. Frauenfelder, The Mössbauer Effect. W. A. Benjamin. LCCN 61018181, 1962.
A. Andreev, Yu. Il'inskii, and R. Khokhlov, Role of collective and induced processes in the generation of Mössbauer gamma radiation. Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics. 46 (4): 682–684, 1977.
I. Terhune and G. Baldwin, Nuclear superradiance in solids. Physical Review Letters. 14 (15): 589–591, 1965.
G. Baldwin, Bibliography of GRASER research. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Report LA-7783-MS, 1979.
A. Andreev and Yu. Il'inskii, Amplification in a gamma laser when the Bragg condition is satisfied. Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics. 41 (3): 403–405, 1975.
A. Andreev, Yu. Il'inskii, Possible use of the Borrmann effect in the gamma laser. Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics. 43 (5): 893–896, 1976.
D. Marcuse, Line Broadening in Recoil-Free Gamma-Ray Resonance Absorption. Physical Review, 131(3), 1631–1639, 1963
Yu. Il'inskii and R. Khokhlov, On the possibility of observation of stimulated gamma radiation. Soviet Physics Uspekhi. 16 (4): 565–567, 1974.
G. Baldwin and J. Solem, Recoilless gamma-ray lasers. Reviews of Modern Physics. 69 (4): 1085–1117, 1997.
G. Borrmann, Über Extinktionsdiagramme der Röntgenstrahlen von Quarz. Physikalische Zeitschrift. 42: 157–162, 1941.
Yu. Kagan, Use of the anomalous passage effect to obtain stimulated emission of gamma quanta in a crystal. JETP Letters. 20 (1): 11–12, 1974.
G. Baldwin and J. Solem, Kinetics of neutron-burst pumped gamma-ray lasers. Laser Physics. 5 (2): 326–335, 1995.
V. Gol'danskii, Yu. Kagan and V. Namiot, Two-stage pumping of Mössbauer gamma-ray lasers. JETP Letters. 18 (1): 34–35, 1973.
V. Gol'danskii and Yu. Kagan, The possibility of creating a nuclear gamma laser. Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics. 37 (1): 49, 1973.
J. Solem and L. Biedenharn, Primer on coupling collective electronic oscillations to nuclei. Los Alamos National Laboratory Report LA-10878, 1987.
L. Biedeharn, G. Baldwin and K. Boer, Nuclear excitation by laser-driven coherent outer shell electron oscillations. Proceedings of the First International Laser Science Conference, Dallas, TX, November 18–22, 1985. Stwalley, W. C.; Lapp, M.; Eds. Vol. 146. pp. 52–53, 1986.
G.Baldwin and J. Solem, Recoilless gamma-ray lasers. Reviews of Modern Physics. 69 (4): 1085–1117, 1997.
J. Solem, L. Biedenharn and G. Rinker, Calculation of harmonic radiation from atoms subjected to strong laser fields and the possibility of nuclear excitation. Journal of the Optical Society of America A. 4: 53, 1987.
J. Solem and L. Biedenharn, Laser coupling to nuclei via collective electronic oscillations: A simple heuristic model study. Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer. 40 (6): 707–712, 1988.
J. Solem, Theorem relating spatial and temporal harmonics for nuclear interlevel transfer driven by collective electronic oscillation. Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer. 40 (6): 713–715, 1988.
E. Widmann, for the ASACUSA Cusp Collaboration. Hyperfine Spectroscopy of Antihydrogen, Hydrogen, and Deuterium. Phys. Part. Nuclei 53, 790–794 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063779622040141
A. Andreev, Atomic Spectroscopy - Introduction to the Theory of Hyperfine Structure. Springer, Book, Electronic (ISBN: 978-0-387-28469-9), 2006.
W. G. Jin, T. Horiguchi, M. Wakasugi, et al. Systematic study of isotope shifts and hyperfine structures in YbI by atomic-beam laser spectroscopy. Hyperfine Interact 74, 310, 1992. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02398640
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Yordan Katsarov

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.