LIGHTING APPARATUS

The invention relates to a lighting apparatus (10) for providing processing light for processing an object. Groups of light sources generate light for processing the object, wherein the groups of light sources are imaged onto a working plane (17) by an imaging unit (16) for producing the processing light. The resulting intensity distribution is configured such that, if the intensity distribution is integrated in a spatial integration direction, the resulting integrated intensity distribution has an intensity dip, wherein one or several of the groups of light sources are controllable independently from the other of the groups of light sources for modifying the integrated intensity distribution. This allows using the lighting apparatus in a processing apparatus such that perpendicular to a processing line, along which an object is to be processed, in particular, to be sealed, the object can be processed relatively homogenously, thereby improving the quality of processing the object.