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SYSF: Symposium Quantum Physics in Strong Fields

SYSF 1: Quantum Physics in Strong Fields

SYSF 1.1: Invited Talk

Tuesday, September 9, 2025, 10:45–11:25, ZHG104

Nuclear physics with strong electromagnetic fields — •Adriana Pálffy — University of Würzburg, Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, 97074 Würzburg

Strong laser-matter interaction traditionally deals with the response of atoms, molecules, and plasmas to external electromagnetic fields. Atomic nuclei have very small dipole moments and show limited response to even the strongest available optical fields. However, progress towards laser sources with increasingly high intensities and higher frequencies opens new opportunities for direct or indirect laser-nucleus interactions.

The talk will review some recent achievements in direct nuclear excitation using laser sources in the vacuum ultraviolet [1] and x-ray regimes [2]. The question on whether strong electromagnetic fields can influence nuclear processes such as alpha decay [3] or fusion [4,5] will be also addressed. Considering indirect and plasma-mediated effects, the prospects of laser-induced secondary reactions or excitation in nuclei and possible future developments will be discussed.

[1] C. Zhang et al., Nature 636, 603 (2024)
[2] Y. Shvyd’ko et al., Nature 622, 471 (2023)
[3] A. Pálffy and S. V. Popruzhenko, Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 212505 (2020)
[4] F. Queisser and R. Schützhold, Phys. Rev. C 100, 041601(R) (2019)
[5] N. Thomson, L. Moschini and A. Diaz-Torres, Phys. Rev. C 110, 034614 (2024)