Dielectric laser acceleration of relativistic beams

最传统的粒子加速器的巨大成本和巨大尺寸对科学家提出了缩小尺寸并制造具有成本效益的加速器的挑战。近年来，随着Gordon和摩尔基金会的“芯片加速器”计划和投资的兴起，介质激光加速器（DLA）引起了越来越多的关注。DLA由于其紧凑性和非常窄的输出光束而成为未来内窥镜和癌症治疗的有希望的候选者。然而，这些结构的优化在其详细模拟和随后的优化中提出了重大挑战，特别是当涉及到加速梯度的效率的增加时。为此，有必要对增强的介电结构、材料和激光参数进行数值研究，以评估色散引起的能量损失和光束发散引起的感应场变化。这就需要一个高性能计算（HPC）平台来进行模拟，同时还需要大数据分析技术来提取不同过程背后的物理过程。模拟研究中使用了来自英国达雷斯伯里和瑞士PSI的CNOAA设施的真实的实验参数。这允许创建DLA的优化模型，该模型可以产生高达几个GeV/m的加速度梯度，并具有用于一系列应用的高质量输出光束。这些研究将成为与PSI合作者计划实验的基础，在这些实验中，相对论电子束也将用于辐射产生。优化DLA的完整数值模型将是这一领域的重大突破，也是许多未来研究的基础。在利物浦博士培训中心LIV.DAT开发的工具和技术非常适合这些结构的整体优化。

The tremendous cost and enormous size of the most conventional particle accelerators present a challenge for scientists to shrink the size and make a cost-effective accelerator. In recent years there has been a growing interest in dielectric laser accelerators (DLA) with the rise of 'accelerator on a chip (ACHIP)' programs and investments by Gordon and Moore foundation. The DLA is a promising candidate for future endoscopy and cancer treatment due to its compactness and very narrow output beam.The optimization of these structures, however, poses significant challenges in their detailed simulation and subsequent optimization, in particular when it comes to an increase of the efficiency of the acceleration gradient. For this, it is necessary to carry out numerical studies into enhanced dielectric structures, materials and laser parameters that allow assessing the resulting energy losses from dispersion and changes in the induced field resulting from beam divergence. This requires a High Performance Computing (HPC) platform for the simulations themselves, as well as Big Data analysis techniques in order to extract the physics behind the different processes.Real experimental parameters from the CLARA facility at Daresbury, UK and PSI, Switzerland are used in the simulation studies. This allows the creation of an optimized model of a DLA which can generate acceleration gradients up to several GeV/m with high-quality output beams for a range of applications. These studies will form the basis for planning experiments with PSI collaborators, where the relativistic electron beam shall also be exploited for radiation generation.An full numerical model of an optimized DLA will be a significant breakthrough in this area and the basis for many future studies. The tools and techniques developed in Liverpool's Centre for Doctoral Training LIV.DAT are ideally suited for an overall optimization of these structures.