Speaker
Description
Plasma-wakefield acceleration offers a promising alternative to radio-frequency technology for future accelerators due to the very high accelerating gradients (>GV/m) it can sustain. However, key challenges remain before meaningful application can begin, for example the staging of multiple plasma modules (to achieve very high beam energy) and achieving MHz-GHz repetition rates (to achieve very high luminosity). The CLARA facility (commissioned to full energy in 2025) provides the first domestic testbed for beam-driven plasma acceleration, such as that required for the Hybrid Asymmetric Linear Higgs Factory (HALHF). A collaboration between the universities of Oxford, Oslo, and Manchester, with scientists from ASTeC and DESY, aims to use CLARA to advance the state-of-the-art towards that required for HALHF, with the long-term goal of demonstrating two-stage acceleration at high repetition rate and high average power. This submission will present results from an initial five-week experimental campaign at CLARA, which took place towards the beginning of 2026 as part of their friendly user run. During this first campaign plasma-accelerator infrastructure was installed at CLARA and used to generate beam-driven wakefields with GV/m fields (a first for CLARA as well as the UK) and to generate >100 T/m focussing fields in an active-plasma-lensing mode. Prospects for future experimental periods at the facility will also be discussed.
| Presenting Author | Meg Savage |
|---|---|
| Is the Presenting Author a PhD Student or Early Career Scientist ? | Yes |
| Area of research | Advanced accelerator concepts |