Laser-enhanced radioactive decay and selective transmutation of nuclei revisited

We have investigated intense narrow-band electromagnetic radiation sources – ranging from visible to X-ray and gamma-ray region – and their application in direct photon–nucleus interactions. In particular, we discuss means of selective excitation of nuclear resonance states by narrow-band photons. In the relaxation process, an excited mother nucleus may return to its initial state, end up to another isomeric state, or decay into a new daughter nucleus. In the latter case, the mother nucleus is transmuted into a daughter which may have beneficial properties, for instance regarding its radioactivity. One potential application could be the destruction of long-lived nuclear waste isotopes into faster decaying ones. The essential presumption is that the excitation process is both selective and efficient enough compared to parasitic background phenomena. The paper consists of (1) a brief discussion of the generation of short wavelength narrow-band light sources, (2) an exploration of nuclear states excitable by induced photon absorption and of their decay channels, and (3) an assessment of the feasibility of this method. According to our findings, the method may be promising for basic nuclear physics studies but still calls for more efficient narrow-band sources. For processing macroscopic amounts of nuclides, no foreseeable improvements in technology appear sufficient to make the method practical.