Stimulated emission of gamma-radiation: A proposed experiment
Gilbert R. Hoy
The purpose of this paper is to describe a method for observing stimulated emission of gamma radiation. Stimulated emission of gamma radiation has never been observed. Stimulated emission of gamma radiation will be essential for developing gamma-ray lasers. The method uses the ‘π phase-shift induced transparency’ of gamma radiation, previously called the ‘gamma echo’. The gamma-echo technique is based on a modification of the time-differential Mössbauer spectroscopic method, i.e. the source is moved ‘instantaneously’ during the lifetime of the excited state. Then a resonant absorber becomes transparent to the resonant gamma radiation. There is a type of ‘self-stimulated’ emission in which the radiation ‘absorbed’, before the phase shift, is stimulated to emit after the phase shift. To observe stimulated emission of the resonant gamma radiation, one performs the same gamma-echo experiment except the resonant absorber is replaced by another source. This secondary source is chosen to be in resonance with the original source. Under these conditions there will be no stimulated emission, in the secondary source, before the π phase shift because the incident radiation is absorbed. However, after the phase shift, the secondary source becomes transparent to the incident radiation. If one uses a matched pair of Co57 sources and the secondary source is 2mCi, there will be about 3 nuclei in the secondary source, in the first excited state of Fe57, that are available to be stimulated during the 97.8ns lifetime of the primary source radiation.
Journal of Modern Optics•Nov 1, 2004•3 citations