Possibility of optically induced nuclear fission

The process of nuclear fission induced by nonlinear radiative coupling to atomic electrons is considered. For 248-nm radiation at an intensity of 1021 W/cm2, highly relativistic currents are produced which can couple to the fission mode of nuclear decay. With irradiation for a time of 100 fs the results indicate a fission probability of 10-5 for U 2 9238 nuclei located at the surface of a solid target, a value several orders of magnitude above the limit of detection. © 1988 The American Physical Society.