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

NSF-BSF：超快激光电子加热用于调整高能质子束的发射率和电荷

• 批准号: 2308860
• 负责人: Siegfried Glenzer
• 金额: $ 68.97万
• 依托单位: Stanford University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-15 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2308860&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; BSF; Ultrafast; Laser; Electron

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.

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，其共同目标是开发可应用于每家医院的离子束癌症治疗技术。这一新颖的概念有望打造出一种紧凑的米级加速器，使离子束治疗领域能够广泛应用于患者。测试最近的预测通过生成大型数据集，在特拉维夫激光设施对拟议的加速器概念进行模拟，其目标是充分优化成功部署所需的离子束特性。潜在的好处，包括改善癌症护理，预计将增加公众对科学的兴趣和参与。和技术，同时吸引新生进入等离子体和加速器科学领域。该项目将建立在先前通过特拉维夫大学（TAU）高强度 NEPTUN 激光器进行高重复率实验演示新质子加速机制的基础上。新的质子加速机制的特点是目标内电子的再循环，该项目将使用 TAU 的高重复率 10 Hz、20 TW 激光器以及最先进的模拟和建模来研究和优化这种效应。目前的理论预测显示电子加热与激光对比度和离子束发射率的关键依赖性和密切相关性，该项目的实验和理论能力的结合为测试这些理论预测提供了独特的机会。在等离子体物理学和加速器物理学，这项研究将利用 NEPTUN 激光器独特的皮秒激光脉冲整形能力来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性。该项目的目标是证明质子束所需的特性。该项目预计将为开发紧凑型加速器提供一条清晰的道路，该加速器能够达到医学治疗和成像应用迫切需要的 250+ MeV 范围。授予 NSF 的法定使命，并通过评估反映使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准，被认为值得支持。