Experimental investigations of the interaction of multi-GeV particles with strong crystalline fields and applications in high-energy beam lines

The thesis first introduces the theory of the interaction of energetic particles with strong crystalline fields. It then treats a number of experiments that investigate different phenomena which can be divided in two: Strong field effects and bent crystals. Both of these include a wealth of sub-topics, such as pair production, strong gamma-ray emission, radiative cooling, polarized gamma-rays and possible inhibiting effects as well as an investigation of the advantage of high-Z materials for deflection of charged particles in crystals and an examination of the radiation hardness of the deflection phenomenon. A number of used and potential applications are considered.