Primakoff effect

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

In the laboratory, the decay widths of the particles produced are measured using the Primakoff effect .

However, this process also happens constantly inside the stars and should be a source of previously hypothetical elementary particles such as B. be the axions . Since 2002 , the CAST experiment at CERN has been trying to prove these solar axions.