A workshop on The Next Generation Gamma-Ray Source sponsored by the Office of Nuclear Physics at the Department of Energy, was held November 17-19, 2016 in Bethesda, Maryland. The goals of the workshop were to identify basic and applied research opportunities at the frontiers of nuclear physics that would be made possible by the beam capabilities of an advanced laser Compton beam facility. To anchor the scientific vision to realistically achievable beam specifications using proven technologies, the workshop brought together experts in the fields of electron accelerators, lasers, and optics to examine the technical options for achieving the beam specifications required by the most compelling parts of the proposed research programs. An international assembly of participants included current and prospective γ-ray beam users, accelerator and light-source physicists, and federal agency program managers. Sessions were organized to foster interactions between the beam users and facility developers, allowing for information sharing and mutual feedback between the two groups. The workshop findings and recommendations are summarized in this whitepaper.

Narrow-bandwidth photon beams in the x-ray and $\gamma$-ray energy ranges are expected to be applied in various fields. An energy recovery linac (ERL)-based laser Compton scattering (LCS) source employing a laser enhancement cavity can produce a high-flux and narrow-bandwidth photon beam. We conducted the first experiment of an ERL-based LCS source in combination with a laser enhancement cavity. We obtained LCS photons with an energy of $6.95\pm 0.01\mathrm{keV}$ by colliding an electron beam of 20 MeV with a laser of 1064 nm wavelength. The photon flux at the interaction point was evaluated to be $(2.6\pm 0.1)\times 10^7\mathrm{photons}/\mathrm{s}$ with an average beam current of $58\mu \mathrm{A}$ and an average laser power of 10 kW. The energy bandwidth was evaluated to be 0.4% (rms) with an opening angle of 0.14 mrad. The technologies demonstrated in this experiment are applicable for future ERL-based LCS sources.