ON THE POSSIBILITY OF MASER ACTION BETWEEN NUCLEAR STATES
George C. Baldwin, J.P. Neissel, J. H. Terhune +1 more
The possibility of a stimulated emission device, analogous to the laser, which can generate radiation at gammaray wavelengths is examined. Lacking reflectors, its operation would consist of multiplication during single passage of photon avalanches initiated by spontaneous emission. The required high concentration of excited states may be obtainable in many nuclides by radiochemical procedures. The maximum possible resonant cross section exceeds ordinary absorption by several orders of magnitude. Only a fraction of the resonant cross-section can be effective, because of line-broadening interactions with the nuclear environment. Singular effects in solids (optical branch excitation, localization of lattice disturbance, or Bragg-angle effects) are suggested that may allow operation at a recoil-displaced energy without population inversion, as alternatives to the Mossbauer effect. An experimental technique for directly measuring the stimulated-emission cross-section by detection of a coherent component in the total radiation is described in some detail. It is concluded that the question of gammamaser feasibility can be conclusively answered only by experiment. (auth)
Transactions of the American Nuclear Society•Jun 15, 1963•0 citations