Prof. Roland Sauerbrey, Forschungszentrum Dresden Rossendorf, Niemcy

The force of light

W sali Rzewuskiego. At laser intensities of above 1018 W/cm2 the motion of the electrons in the laser field becomes relativistic which leads to a multitude of new optical effects summarized under the name relativistic optics. The most striking and prominent of those effects is laser particle acceleration. High intensity beams can now produce monochromatic electron beams with energy of up to 1 GeV. Recently also monoenergetic ion beams in the MeV range were produced by high intensity lasers. The mechanism of laser particle acceleration will be discussed in the context of recent experimental results. This novel technology might also offer completely new possibilities in Radiooncology.