Plasma accelerator research station taking shape
Particle accelerators find many applications in fundamental research, as well as in health, energy and security applications. They range from relatively compact, sometimes even table top devices to km-size particle colliders to unravel the secrets of the universe. In order to reduce the size, costs and complexity of these facilities, particle-driven plasma wakefield acceleration is a very promising alternative to commonly used radiofrequency accelerators. High quality electron beams can act as ideal driver for a plasma that is then used to produce a very high accelerating gradient of the order of GV/m – that is a potential difference of 1 Billion Volt over one meter – to accelerate another electron beam to high energy. The high repetition rate of such scheme is another advantage that shows high promise for a number of application.