Extreme Light Infrastructure Project Research Articles

Overview of ELI-NP status and laser commissioning experiments with 1 PW and 10 PW class-lasers

In the last decade, the laser intensity has reached up to 1021 Wcm−2 on focus allowing the generation of new phenomena, which are relevant not only in basic physics research but also in applied science with great benefit to the society. In this regard, in 2006, the Extreme Light Infrastructure project was considered in the roadmap of ESFRI with the aim of creating European research centers for cutting-edge studies. From the three pillars under development, the Romanian one, denominated ELI-NP (Extreme Light Infrastructure Nuclear Physics), will be broadly studying the laser-plasma interaction by employing a 10 PW class-laser with the intent of studying the behavior of matter exposed at extreme light intensities and consequently producing specific ion and gamma-ray sources of relevance for nuclear physics. For instance, phenomena like the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) and the Radiation Pressure Acceleration (RPA) will be widely investigated in a new regime in which Quantum electrodynamics (QED) effects start to play a significant role. Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations and theoretical models predict ion beams with energies up to sub-GeV/u and gamma-ray pulses of the order of few petawatts from a 10 PW laser beam (i.e. laser intensity of about 1023 Wcm−2). Further, multi-GeV electron beams of quality suitable for applications are expected to be attained from gas targets via LWFA (Laser Wakefield Acceleration). The active investigation which will be pursued in the coming years at ELI-NP will certainly bring to the discovery of novel physics phenomena and several applications. The commissioning of the experimental areas dedicated to research with high power lasers and a gradual entering in operation will take place during 2020–2021.

Current status and highlights of the ELI-NP research program

The emergence of a new era reaching beyond current state-of-the-art ultrashort and ultraintense laser technology has been enabled by the approval of around € 850 million worth of structural funds in 2011–2012 by the European Commission for the installation of Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI). The ELI project consists of three pillars being built in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania. This challenging proposal is based on recent technical progress allowing ultraintense laser fields in which intensities will soon be reaching as high as I0 ∼ 1023 W cm−2. This tremendous technological advance has been brought about by the invention of chirped pulse amplification by Mourou and Strickland. Romania is hosting the ELI for Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) pillar in Măgurele near Bucharest. The new facility, currently under construction, is intended to serve the broad national, European, and international scientific community. Its mission covers scientific research at the frontier of knowledge involving two domains. The first is laser-driven experiments related to NP, strong-field quantum electrodynamics, and associated vacuum effects. The second research domain is based on the establishment of a Compton-backscattering-based, high-brilliance, and intense γ beam with Eγ ≲ 19.5 MeV, which represents a merger between laser and accelerator technology. This system will allow the investigation of the nuclear structure of selected isotopes and nuclear reactions of relevance, for example, to astrophysics with hitherto unprecedented resolution and accuracy. In addition to fundamental themes, a large number of applications with significant societal impact will be developed. The implementation of the project started in January 2013 and is spearheaded by the ELI-NP/Horia Hulubei National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH). Experiments will begin in early 2020.

Towards experiments at the new ELI-NP facility

The Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) Pan-European initiative represents a major step forward in quest for extreme electromagnetic fields. The Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) laboratory is one of the three pillars of the ELI project, that aims to use such extreme electromagnetic fields for nuclear physics and quantum electrodynamics research. At ELI-NP two ten petawatt high-power laser systems together with a very brilliant narrow-width γ beam are the main research tools. Here the current status of the project and the experimental program related to nuclear research, which is under preparation at ELI-NP, are presented.