Relativistic self-focusing gives mid-IR driven electrons a boost

Conventional particle accelerators can range from large room-sized devices to facilities multiple kilometers across. One of the ways that scientists have looked to reduce the size and expense of future accelerators is by developing laser -driven plasma acceleration. Such accelerators, however, are growing in size and complexity in order to maintain relevance for one of their applications--high energy physics. However, there are many applications that can use a lower energy and higher repetition ...