2 v 2 7 M ay 1 99 8 Budker INP 98 - 33 Electron - photon interactions in high energy beam production and cooling ∗

In this review we consider three important applications of lasers in high energy physics: γγ, γe colliders, laser cooling, positron production. These topics are actual now due to plans of construction linear ee, ee, γγ, γe colliders with energies 0.3–1 TeV. High energy photons for γγ, γe collisions can be obtained using laser backscattering. These types of collisions considerably increase physics potential of linear colliders. Very low emittance of electron beams required for achieving ultimate γγ luminosity can be obtained using a laser cooling of electron beams. Combining a laser-electron Compton scattering with subsequent conversion of these photons to ee pairs on the target (it can be a laser target) one can get a nice source of polarized positron. In this paper, we briefly considered these subjects with emphasis on underlying physics of photon-electron interactions.