Laser-induced nuclear excitation

An analysis is presented of the Coulomb excitation of low-lying nuclear levels by the electrons produced by strong-field ionization of atoms. It is shown that the resulting short-lived radioactivity can be as high as on the order of 10³ Ci for certain isotopes excited by using modern laser systems. Relativistic effects are demonstrated that substantially increase radioactivity as compared to that predicted by nonrelativistic theory results.