The project area "Nuclear Photonics" deals with the interaction of high-energy photons with atomic nuclei. Due to their high selectivity and penetrability, photons are an ideal probe for fundamental research on the structure of atomic nuclei as well as for various applications.

We use both bremsstrahlung and quasi-monoenergetic photons from the backscattering of laser light on highly accelerated electrons ("laser Compton backscattering") as the source for the photons. 
Our working group is particularly concerned with:

• Experiments with bremsstrahlung at DHIPS (TU Darmstadt) and Gamma-ELBE (HZDR, Dresden-Rossendorf).
• Experiments with quasi-monoenergetic photons at HIGS (TUNL, Durham, NC, USA).
• Preparation of experiments at ELI-NP (Bucharest-Margurele, Romania).

The projects are funded by the DFG and the BMBF, among others.