NSF-BSF: Investigation of Streaming Instabilities for Tailoring the Profile of High-Energy Laser-Generated Proton Beams

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

Proton beam accelerators find wide applications in technology and research. The most famous machine is the Large Hadron Collider at CERN on the Franco-Swiss border in Europe with a circumference of 16.6 miles. Reducing the size of these machines is a major goal in accelerator physics. A promising avenue utilizes intense laser beams as a compact proton source. The laser-driven proton beams to be generated in this project are expected to achieve relativistic speeds with favorable properties to reduce the size and cost of future accelerator facilities. For this purpose, a new Stanford jet target technology will be combined with a high-power laser at the Tel-Aviv Intense Lasers and Ultrafast Science facility in Israel, which has one of the fastest repetition rates in the world, firing 10 times per second. At these high rates the group will use machine learning algorithms for proton beam optimization to enable applications with high pay-off for society. The investigators will perform high-repetition rate laser experiments that allow the application of machine learning algorithms to manipulate the laser pulse shape and contrast to optimize the proton beam properties. The goal is to achieve beams suitable for injection into a radio-frequency powered accelerator that has the capability to reach beam energies of 230 MeV + on a meter scale. This research will have far-reaching impact beyond the fields of laser-plasma and accelerator physics. The demonstration of the control of streaming instabilities and delivering protons beams of energy >20 MeV, >1 nC charge, <0.03 mm mrad emittance and repetition rates of 10 Hz as proposed here are well suited for subsequent acceleration to high proton energies for applications in research, medicine, and manufacturing. Stanford, with expertise in lasers, high-repetition rate experiments and accelerators, is in a unique position to deliver the components needed for compact high-efficiency hybrid accelerators. This work will involve collaboration between Stanford University, the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and Tel-Aviv University in Israel, and will be performed under the umbrella of the Memorandum of Understanding on Research Cooperation between NSF and the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.