Primakoff effect

In elementary particle physics called the Primakoff effect ( after Henry Primakoff ) the production of neutral mesons by the interaction of high-energy photons ( gamma - quanta) with an atomic nucleus Coulomb field. It is the time-reversed process of decay of a meson into two photons.

In the laboratory, the widths of the disintegration particles generated are measured with the aid of Primakoff effect.

However, this process also happens all the time in the interior of stars and should also be a source of hitherto hypothetical elementary particles such as the axion be. Since 2002, the CAST experiment at CERN is trying to prove these solar axions.

  • Particle Physics
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