Related papers: Cost-Optimal Laser-Accelerated Lightsails
We propose to use a frequency doubled pulse colliding with the driving pulse at an acute angle to trigger ionization injection in a laser wakefield accelerator. This scheme effectively reduces the duration that injection occurs, thus high…
We consider a possibilty to use an echelon of mutually coherent laser pulses generated by the emerging CAN (Coherent Amplification Network) technology for direct particle acceleration in periodic plasma structures. The plasma structure…
Asteroid mining offers the possibility to revolutionize supply of resources vital for human civilization. Preliminary analysis suggests that Near-Earth Asteroids (NEA) contain enough volatile and high value minerals to make the mining…
We propose a novel design for a lightweight, high-performance space-based solar power array combined with power beaming capability for operation in geosynchronous orbit and transmission of power to Earth. We use a modular configuration of…
Collisionless shock acceleration of protons and C$^{6+}$ ions has been achieved by the interaction of a 10$^{20}$ W/cm$^2$, 1 $\mu$m laser with a near-critical density plasma. Ablation of the initially solid density target by a secondary…
We present a high-power continuous-wave (CW) lunar laser ranging (LLR) technique that has the potential to significantly improve Earth--Moon distance measurements. Using a 1 kW CW laser at 1064 nm and a 1 m-aperture telescope as an example,…
Experimental measurements using the OMEGA EP laser facility demonstrated direct laser acceleration (DLA) of electron beams to (505 $\pm$ 75) MeV with (140 $\pm$ 30)~nC of charge from a low-density plasma target using a 400 J, picosecond…
The Breakthrough Starshot initiative aims to launch a gram-scale spacecraft to a speed of $v\sim 0.2$c, capable of reaching the nearest star system, $\alpha$ Centauri, in about 20 years. However, a critical challenge for the initiative is…
This paper presents a novel approach to launch single microparticles at high velocities under low vacuum conditions. In an all-optical table-top method, microparticles with sizes ranging from a few microns to tens of microns are accelerated…
An ultra-short (about 30 fs) petawatt laser pulse focused with a wide focal spot (about 100 microns) in a rarefied plasma (electron density of order 10^{17} per cm^3) excites a nonlinear plasma wakefield which can accelerate injected…
Modern laser plasma accelerators (LPAs) often require plasma waveguides tens of cm long to propagate a high-intensity drive laser pulse. Tapering the longitudinal gas density profile in 10 cm scale gas jets could allow for single stage…
We apply laser light to induce the asymmetric heating of Janus colloids adsorbed at water-oil interfaces and realize active micrometric "Marangoni surfers". The coupling of temperature and surfactant concentration gradients generates…
Laser-plasma acceleration produces ultrashort, high-brightness ion beams reaching tens of MeV, yet their large divergence and broad energy spread require dedicated capture elements for beam transport. Using laser-accelerated protons from…
Few-cycle lasers are essential for many research areas such as attosecond physics that promises to address fundamental questions in science and technology. Therefore, further advancements are connected to significant progress in the…
The prospect of phased laser arrays in space has received considerable attention in recent years, with applications to both planetary defence and space exploration. The most detailed investigation conducted into such a design is that of the…
Leveraging advancements in micro-scale technology, we propose a fleet of autonomous, low-cost, small solar sails for interplanetary exploration. The Berkeley Low-cost Interplanetary Solar Sail (BLISS) project aims to utilize small-scale…
Autonomous navigation is one of the main enabling technologies for future space missions. While conventional spacecraft are navigated through ground stations, their employment for deep-space CubeSats yields costs comparable to those of the…
A design for a compact x-ray light source (CXLS) with flux and brilliance orders of magnitude beyond existing laboratory scale sources is presented. The source is based on inverse Compton scattering of a high brightness electron bunch on a…
In laser-wakefield acceleration, an ultra-intense laser pulse is focused into an underdense plasma in order to accelerate electrons to relativistic velocities. In most cases, the pulses consist of multiple optical cycles and the interaction…
An efficient approach that considers a high-intensity twisted laser of moderate energy (few J) is proposed to generate collimated proton bunches with multi-10-MeV energies from a double-layer hydrogen target. Three-dimensional…