Advanced Accelerator Concepts 2026

Session

A2-Working group # 2

27 Jul 2026, 13:30

Legacy A (Luskin)

83. Efficient proton acceleration in near critical density targets

Ulrich Schramm

27/07/2026, 13:30

To be considered for Working Group talk

Improved control of high intensity laser parameters, in particular with respect to temporal pulse contrast and spatio-temporal couplings, enabled the exploitation of proton acceleration mechanisms surpassing target normal sheath acceleration. Ultra-thin and near critical density targets provide access to cascades of acceleration regimes that boost energies well beyond 100 MeV [1], but also...

99. Enhanced acceleration of high-energy proton beams from laser-driven stochastic 3D printed microstructures

Sergei Tochitsky (UCLA)

27/07/2026, 13:50

To be considered for Working Group talk

Laser-driven ion acceleration in plasma is being explored as a source of ion beams with high peak current that can be useful in many fields of science and medicine. Recently, we introduced a new target platform using two-photon polymerization (2PP), 3D laser-printed multilayered microstructures with average densities lower than solid that are relatively insensitive to the laser prepulse. In a...

79. Significant Increase in the Number of Energetic Protons with Two Hot Temperatures of 1 and 4 MeV During the Interaction of an Ultra-Intense Laser with a Foam Target Near the Critical Density and Coulomb piston signature.

gerard malka (UNIVERSITE DE BORDEAUX)

27/07/2026, 14:10

To be considered for Working Group talk

Significant Increase in the Number of Energetic Protons with Two Hot Temperatures of 1 and 4 MeV During the Interaction of an Ultra-Intense Laser with a Foam Target Near the Critical Density and Coulomb piston signature.

G. Malka,1 P. Raczka,2 H. Larreur,1,3,4 D. Molloy,4,5 Y. Fukuda,6 K. Batani,2 D. Singappuli,1 Bing Liu,7 Dong Ao,7 Wei Kang,8 S. Pikuz,3 A. Martynenko,9 N. Borisneko,10 T....

71. Generation of deuteron beams from laser-driven thin foils for neutron radiography

Chengkun Huang (Los Alamos National Lab)

27/07/2026, 14:30

To be considered for Working Group talk

Thin deuterated plastic foils have been used in medium-scale laser facilities, such as the Trident and Phelix laser facilities, for production of deuteron beams which are ultimately used for neutron generation. Here we produced deuteron beams from CD sub-micron thin films using a 0.5kJ sub-ps laser at the Omega-EP laser facility. Deuteron yield is estimated to be ~5e+12 d/shot and ~ 2.3e+13...

1. Recent developments of a laser-driven ion acceleration beamline at SIOM

Prof. Jianhui Bin (Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

27/07/2026, 14:50

To be considered for Working Group talk

Laser driven ion acceleration provides a route to achieve high quality ion beams, which could be superior for specific applications. In this talk I will present recent development of a laser driven ion acceleration beam line based on a homemade table-top 200 TW laser system at Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM). Our major motivation is the potential application of such...

91. Proton Beam Focusing in Low Density Plasma from High-Repetition-Rate Liquid-Sheet Targets

Jimmy Weeks (Queen's University Belfast)

27/07/2026, 15:10

To be considered for Working Group talk

High-intensity lasers can accelerate protons from solid targets via target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA). These beams possess short pulse durations and low emittance, with potential applications in radiobiology, radioisotope production and warm dense matter. However, their inherently large divergence (10’s of degrees) and the challenge of achieving multi-Hz operation need to be addressed....

142. Electric and magnetic fields on the surface of a dense plasma with relativistic electron flows

Alexander Thomas (university of michigan)

30/07/2026, 16:00

To be considered for Working Group talk

The electric/magnetic fields generated on the surface of a dense plasma by hot electrons are considered with relativistic fluid theory. Quasi-steady state solutions are considered with both isothermal and isentropic models and conservation laws for the electron flows in terms of the four-potential and specific enthalpy. We find analytic solutions for the electric and magnetic field profiles...

103. On-line optimization of a high average power laser-driven ion source using Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm

Tibor Gilinger (University of Szeged)

30/07/2026, 16:20

To be considered for Working Group talk

The evolution of high peak power laser technology especially in repetition rate and pulse-to-pulse stability, as well as the development of the suitable targetry enabled LPIAs to operate quasi-continuously, at a repetition rate of around 1 Hz [1-2]. This allowed the use of optimisation algorithms based on deep learning to improve the performance of LPIA. One of the most commonly integrated...

108. Scintillator-Based High Repetition Rate Diagnostic for Multi-Energy Proton Beam Imaging & Probing

Veronica Contreras (University of Michigan)

30/07/2026, 16:40

To be considered for Working Group talk

High-repetition-rate, multi-petawatt laser systems require high-throughput diagnostics capable of capturing proton beam characteristics on a shot-to-shot basis. We present GOSSIP (Glowing On-shot Scintillator Stack for Imaging Protons), a compact, reusable, multi-layer scintillator diagnostic designed to measure spatially resolved transverse proton beam profiles across multiple energies. The...

219. Picosecond Radiation Dynamics in Materials Using Laser Driven Sources

Jonathan Kennedy (Queen's University Belfast)

30/07/2026, 17:00

To be considered for Working Group talk

Ionising radiation induces ultrafast cascades of electronic and structural processes in matter that ultimately govern long-lived radiation damage. However, the connection between picosecond-scale dynamics and macroscopic outcomes remains insufficiently characterised, particularly in complex or nanostructure media and under ultra-high dose-rate conditions. We present measurements of dynamics in...

220. Diagnosing near-critical-density laser plasma interaction and ion acceleration using dynamic optical probing

Nicholas Dover

30/07/2026, 17:20

To be considered for Working Group talk

The interaction of high-intensity lasers with near-critical density (NCD) plasmas underpins many applications, such as the generation of ultra-high peak current ion beams. However, diagnosing NCD plasmas remains challenging due to their high density, short timescales, and small spatial structures. We address these challenges by driving ion acceleration with a high-power, long-wave infrared...

152. Contrast enhancement results of a novel spatially-combined, pulse-stacked ultrafast fiber laser system

David Feng (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)

30/07/2026, 17:40

To be considered for Working Group talk

Ultrafast lasers with both high average and peak power are necessary to drive laser wakefield acceleration. Fiber lasers have recently demonstrated potential to meet such challenging demands, but they still run into the primary roadblock of lower temporal contrast, a key parameter for characterizing pre- and pedestal pulses which cause pre-ionization of the target gas. Second harmonic...