The 6th International Conference on Laser Probing (LAP2012) had been held in Paris at the Institut Henri Poincaré. It highlighted the state of the art in Laser Probing and reinforced the common ground and synergies among the different actors in the field. The Institut de Physique Nucléaire d'Orsay and the Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds in Caen had been in charge of the organization of this event, co-sponsored by the Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules (IN2P3) and the Laboratory Physique des 2 Infinis et des Origines (P2IO).

Previously published as special issue of Hyperfine Interactions, vol. 216, 1-3.

This volume contains the proceedings of the 6^th International Conference on Laser Probing (LAP2012). The conference was held from June 4^th to 8^th, 2012 in Paris, France, focusing on using laser beams as a probe in different fields. The LAP2012 conference was hosted by the Institut de Physique Nucléaire (IPN) of Orsay and the Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL) of Caen. The conference venue was at the Institut Henri Poincaré, in the 5^th arrondissement of Paris. Over 80 scientists, engineers and students from 16 countries attended the conference.
These Proceedings book contains reports on the most recent work centered on Laser Probing such as: optical spectroscopy of atoms, molecules, clusters and atomic nuclei; analysis and characterization of solid, fluid and gaseous materials; reaction chemistry and ultrafast phenomena; development of new laser-based technique and lasers for probing. The research papers include work on the radioactive ion beam production by resonance multiphoton ionization, laser spectroscopic studies on different species such as exotic nuclei, muon particles, chromatin or acetone and laser probing of atomic structure. Prospects at the Radioactive Ion Beam Facilities ISOLDE, RIKEN, TRIUMF and GANIL are described.

Previously published as special issue of Hyperfine Interactions, vol. 216, 1-3