Lab in a bubble

Completed

Nuclear Fission and Fusion(Nuclear Fusion)
Not Energy Related

Basic and strategic applied research

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Physics)
PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Applied Mathematics)

Not Cross-cutting

Professor DA Jaroszynski
Physics
University of Strathclyde

Standard

EPSRC

01 April 2016

31 March 2021

60 months

£4,494,682

Plasma physics

Scotland

NC : Physical Sciences

Professor DA Jaroszynski, Physics, University of Strathclyde

Dr M Boyd, Inst for Biomedical Science, University of Strathclyde
Dr DA Burton, Physics, Lancaster University
Professor RA Cairns, Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews
Dr J Gratus, Physics, Lancaster University
Professor B Hidding, Physics, University of Strathclyde
Professor D Ireland, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow
Dr P McKenna, Physics, University of Strathclyde
Professor V O'Shea, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow
Dr S Pimlott, College of Medical, Veterinary &Life Sci, University of Glasgow
Professor Z Sheng, Physics, University of Strathclyde
Professor RW Tucker, Physics, Lancaster University

Project Contact, National Physical Laboratory (NPL)
Project Contact, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL)
Project Contact, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany
Project Contact, University of Southampton
Project Contact, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
Project Contact, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
Project Contact, Cockcroft Institute
Project Contact, University of Salamanca, Spain
Project Contact, Ulsan Nat Inst of Sci and Tech UNIST
Project Contact, Higher Technical Institute (IST)
Project Contact, Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany
Project Contact, University of Edinburgh
Project Contact, ELI-HU Nonprofit Kft, Hungary
Project Contact, ELI-NP | Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics, Romania
Project Contact, University of Texas at Austin, USA
Project Contact, Tsinghua University
Project Contact, Anglo-European College of Chiropractic
Project Contact, Lakes College West Cumbria
Project Contact, Oaklands College
Project Contact, SINAPSE

The lab in a bubble project is a timely investigation of the interaction of charged particles with radiation inside and in the vicinity of relativistic plasma bubbles created by intense ultra-short laser pulses propagating in plasma. It builds on recent studies carried out by the ALPHA-X team of coherent X-ray radiation from the laser-plasma wakefield accelerator and high field effects where radiation reaction becomes important. The experimental programme will be carried out using high power lasers and investigate new areas of physics where single-particle and collective radiation reaction and quantum effects become important, and where non-linear coupling and instabilities between beams, laser, plasma and induced fields develop, which result in radiation and particle beams with unique properties. Laser-plasma interactions are central to all problems studied and understanding their complex and often highly non-linear interactions gives a way of controlling the bubble and beams therein. To investigate the rich range of physical processes, advanced theoretical and experimental methods will be applied and advantage will be taken of know-how and techniques developed by the teams. New analytical and numerical methods will be developed to enable planning and interpreting results from experiments. Advanced experimental methods and diagnostics will be developed to probe the bubble and characterise the beams and radiation. An important objective will be to apply the radiation and beams in selected proof-of-concept applications to the benefit of society. The project is involves a large group of Collaborators and Partners, who will contribute to both theoretical and experimental work. The diverse programme is managed through a synergistic approach where there is strong linkage between work-packages, and both theoretical and experiential methodologies are applied bilaterally: experiments are informed by theory at planning and data interpretation stages, and theory is steered by the outcome of experimental studies, which results in a virtuous circle that advances understanding of the physics inside and outside the lab in a bubble. We also expect to make major advances in high field physics and the development of a new generation of compact coherent X-ray sources

23/08/16