Nuclear physics using electron beams

Experiments using electron beams are briefly described. A high-intensity pulsed beam is usable for single-arm experiments, while a continuous beam is necessary for coincidence experiments. As photons induced with a monochromatic electron beam have a continuous energy-spectrum, the energy of the scattered electron is measured in order to fix the photon energy, if it is possible. When the energy of the scattered electron cannot be measured, the reaction cross section is unfolded from series of measurements at different incident electron energies. As examples of the experiments, elastic electron scattering and photonuclear reactions in the giant resonance region are described. Recent investigations of the photonuclear reactions at low energies are also presented, and possible contributions of laser-nuclear physics are suggested. (author)