Photofission

Photofission is a process in which a nucleus, after absorbing a gamma ray, undergoes nuclear fission (splits into two or more fragments).

Gamma radiation of modest energies, in the low tens of MeV, can induce fission in traditionally fissile elements such as the actinides uranium, plutonium, and neptunium. Experiments have been conducted with much higher energy gamma rays, finding that the photofission cross section varies little within ranges in the low GeV range.