NSF-BSF: Ultrafast Laser-Electron Heating for Tailoring the Emittance and Charge of High-Energy Proton Beams

该奖项支持斯坦福大学和以色列特拉维夫大学合作研究高强度激光离子加速。这项共同努力的目标是开发一种离子束癌症治疗技术，这种技术可以在每家医院使用，并且能够在不伤害周围健康组织的情况下清除人体各处的癌细胞。这个新颖的概念承诺了一个紧凑的，米级的加速器，有可能彻底改变离子束治疗领域，使其广泛适用于患者。该项目将通过产生大型数据集来测试最近在特拉维夫激光设施中提出的加速器概念的模拟预测，目标是充分优化成功部署所需的离子束特性。潜在的好处，包括改善癌症治疗，预计将增加公众对科学技术的兴趣和参与，同时吸引新的学生进入等离子体和加速器科学领域。该项目将建立在先前在特拉维夫大学（TAU）使用高强度NEPTUN激光器进行高重复率实验的新质子加速机制的演示基础上。新的质子加速机制以靶内电子的再循环为特征。该项目将使用TAU的高重复频率10hz， 20tw激光和斯坦福大学开发的最先进的模拟和建模来研究和优化这种效果。目前的理论预测表明，电子加热与激光对比度和离子束发射度有密切的关系。这个项目的实验和理论能力的结合为检验这些理论预测提供了一个独特的机会。聚焦于等离子体物理和加速器物理的应用，本研究将利用NEPTUN激光器独特的皮秒激光脉冲整形能力，确定离子空间和能量分布对激光强度和脉冲对比度的依赖关系。该项目的目标是演示质子束注入高梯度线性质子加速器所需的特性。该项目预计将为开发紧凑型加速器提供一条明确的道路，该加速器能够达到医疗治疗和成像领域迫切需要的250+ MeV的水平。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award supports a collaboration between Stanford University and Tel Aviv University in Israel to study ion acceleration with high-intensity lasers. The joint effort is motivated by the goal of developing ion beam cancer therapy technology that could be placed in every hospital and would be able to remove cancer cells everywhere in a human body while leaving the surrounding healthy tissue unharmed. The novel concept promises a compact, meter-scale accelerator with the potential to revolutionize the field of ion beam therapy by making it widely accessible to patients. The project will test predictions of recent simulation of the proposed accelerator concept at Tel Aviv’s laser facility by producing large data sets with the goal to fully optimize the ion beam properties needed for successful deployment. The potential benefits, including improved cancer care, are expected to increase public interest and engagement in science and technology while attracting new students into the fields of plasma and accelerator science.This project will build on a prior demonstration of a new proton acceleration regime using high-repetition rate experiments at the high-intensity NEPTUN laser at Tel Aviv University (TAU). The new proton acceleration regime is characterized by the recirculation of electrons within the target. This project will study and optimize this effect using the high repetition rate 10 Hz, 20 TW laser at TAU and state-of-the-art simulations and modeling developed at Stanford. Current theoretical predictions show critical dependence and close correlation of the electron heating with the laser contrast and the ion beam emittance. The combination of experimental and theoretical capabilities of this project provides a unique opportunity to test these theoretical predictions. Focusing on applications in plasma physics and accelerator physics, this study will determine the dependence of the ion spatial and energy distribution on laser intensity and pulse contrast using the NEPTUN laser’s unique picosecond laser pulse-shaping capabilities. The goal of the project is to demonstrate proton beam properties required for injection into a high-gradient linear proton accelerator. The project is expected to provide a clear path towards the development of a compact accelerator capable of reaching the urgently needed 250+ MeV regime for applications in medical therapies and imaging.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.