Bose-Einstein Condensates for Gamma-Ray Lasers

Gamma-ray lasers could have a number of important applications, from high-resolution imaging to new ways to probe or control nuclear transitions. But building such lasers is still impossible because of the lack of suitable amplification media and mirrors. As reported in Physical Review Letters, Hamlet Avetissian and colleagues at the Yerevan State University in Armenia have theoretically investigated a gamma-ray laser based on a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of positronium—hydrogenlike atoms made of an electron and a positron.