Development of Ultrashort Relativistic Electron Beams as a Plasma Diagnostic

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A very powerful laser can be used to accelerate electrons to high energies by interacting with a state of matter known as a plasma, an ionized gas of charged particles. The laser achieves this by creating waves in the plasma, like a boat pushing through water, on which the electrons can surf and be accelerated to high energies. In this project, electrons accelerated with lasers will be used to image and, in turn, better understand the behavior of the plasma itself. The techniques and understanding obtained in this study will further help the development of compact particle accelerators, which can impact everything from cancer therapy to imaging stresses in aircraft wings. Electron beams produced by laser driven plasma waves are especially brief in duration and tightly focused, so they may be used for imaging of very rapidly changing phenomena. In this project, one of the most powerful lasers in the world, the NSF funded HERCULES laser at the University of Michigan, will be used to create electron beams to probe electromagnetic field structures that are produced when lasers interact with solid materials. In particular, these include surface magnetic fields, reconnecting magnetic fields and Weibel instability filaments. An intense electron beam will also be used to heat and produce high energy density plasmas which can be used to better understand astrophysically relevant phenomena in a laboratory setting.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.