Ever since the discovery of radioactivity by Henri Becquerel in 1896, nuclear physics has been at the forefront of physics. Over a century of using radioactive sources, accelerators, or reactors, nuclear physics has made huge development in understanding the structure of atomic nuclei and their interaction as a key discipline of basic research, but also it has led to applications in many fields such as nuclear power, radiation therapy, medical imaging and so on. In recent years, the sustained technological progress in high-intensity lasers is opening up the possibility of super-intense laser pulses to trigger or substantially influence nuclear processes and nuclear applications. Therefore, lasers are becoming a new platform for investigating nuclear physics in addition to accelerators and reactors.
When compared with traditional nuclear physics facilities, high-intensity lasers have unique characteristics such as short pulse width, high flux, and excellent time resolution, as well as inducing strong magnetic field. These characteristics bring challenges to the detection of nuclear products, but also bring unique opportunities to nuclear physics research. Over the past few decades, especially in the past decade, laser-based nuclear physics has made huge development including nuclear reactions, nuclear isomeric states, and so on. Basically, we can study nuclear dynamics in plasmas at different densities and temperatures. Reaction cross-section, the range of the ions in the plasmas, pair production, electron and ion acceleration in intense electric and magnetic fields may be studied in a completely different manner as compared to cold-targets and beams at fixed energies.
In this Research Topic, we aim to provide a platform to exhibit the recent achievements and reveal the future challenges in laser-driven nuclear physics. Both original research and review articles are encouraged. Some laser-driven-related topics of particular interest may include but are not limited to the following:
• Technologies for detecting nuclear products;
• Plasma diagnostic technologies;
• Nuclear reactions and/or nuclear fusions;
• Nuclear isomeric states;
• Laser acceleration and radiation sources;
• Routes to energy production.
Ever since the discovery of radioactivity by Henri Becquerel in 1896, nuclear physics has been at the forefront of physics. Over a century of using radioactive sources, accelerators, or reactors, nuclear physics has made huge development in understanding the structure of atomic nuclei and their interaction as a key discipline of basic research, but also it has led to applications in many fields such as nuclear power, radiation therapy, medical imaging and so on. In recent years, the sustained technological progress in high-intensity lasers is opening up the possibility of super-intense laser pulses to trigger or substantially influence nuclear processes and nuclear applications. Therefore, lasers are becoming a new platform for investigating nuclear physics in addition to accelerators and reactors.
When compared with traditional nuclear physics facilities, high-intensity lasers have unique characteristics such as short pulse width, high flux, and excellent time resolution, as well as inducing strong magnetic field. These characteristics bring challenges to the detection of nuclear products, but also bring unique opportunities to nuclear physics research. Over the past few decades, especially in the past decade, laser-based nuclear physics has made huge development including nuclear reactions, nuclear isomeric states, and so on. Basically, we can study nuclear dynamics in plasmas at different densities and temperatures. Reaction cross-section, the range of the ions in the plasmas, pair production, electron and ion acceleration in intense electric and magnetic fields may be studied in a completely different manner as compared to cold-targets and beams at fixed energies.
In this Research Topic, we aim to provide a platform to exhibit the recent achievements and reveal the future challenges in laser-driven nuclear physics. Both original research and review articles are encouraged. Some laser-driven-related topics of particular interest may include but are not limited to the following:
• Technologies for detecting nuclear products;
• Plasma diagnostic technologies;
• Nuclear reactions and/or nuclear fusions;
• Nuclear isomeric states;
• Laser acceleration and radiation sources;
• Routes to energy production.
