Stable laser-acceleration of high-flux proton beams with plasma collimation

M. J. V. Streeter; G. D. Glenn; S. Dilorio; F. Treffert; B. Loughran; H. Ahmed; S. Astbury; M. Borghesi; N. Bourgeois; C. B. Curry; S. J. D. Dann; N. P. Dover; T. Dzelzainis; O. C. Ettlinger; M. Gauthier; L. Giuffrida; S. H. Glenzer; R. J. Gray; J. S. Green; G. S. Hicks; C. Hyland; V. Istokskaia; M. King; D. Margarone; O. McCusker; P. McKenna; Z. Najmudin; C. Parisuaña; P. Parsons; C. Spindloe; D. R. Symes; A.G.R. Thomas; N. Xu; C. A. J. Palmer

doi:10.1038/s41467-025-56248-4

Stable laser-acceleration of high-flux proton beams with plasma collimation

M. J. V. Streeter, G. D. Glenn, S. Dilorio, F. Treffert, B. Loughran, H. Ahmed, S. Astbury, M. Borghesi, N. Bourgeois, C. B. Curry, S. J. D. Dann, N. P. Dover, T. Dzelzainis, O. C. Ettlinger, M. Gauthier, L. Giuffrida, S. H. Glenzer, R. J. Gray, J. S. Green, G. S. HicksC. Hyland, V. Istokskaia, M. King, D. Margarone, O. McCusker, P. McKenna, Z. Najmudin, C. Parisuaña, P. Parsons, C. Spindloe, D. R. Symes, A.G.R. Thomas, N. Xu, C. A. J. Palmer^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Laser-plasma acceleration of protons offers a compact, ultra-fast alternative to conventional acceleration techniques, and is being widely pursued for potential applications in medicine, industry and fundamental science. Creating a stable, collimated beam of protons at high repetition rates presents a key challenge. Here, we demonstrate the generation of multi-MeV proton beams from a fast-replenishing ambient-temperature liquid sheet. The beam has an unprecedentedly low divergence of 1° (≤20 mrad), resulting from magnetic self-guiding of the proton beam during propagation through a low density vapour. The proton beams, generated at a repetition rate of 5 Hz using only 190 mJ of laser energy, exhibit a hundred-fold increase in flux compared to beams from a solid target. Coupled with the high shot-to-shot stability of this source, this represents a crucial step towards applications.

Original language	English
Article number	1004
Number of pages	9
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	16
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56248-4
Publication status	Published - 24 Jan 2025

Funding

M.J.V.S. acknowledges support from the Royal Society URF-R1221874. S.H.G., G.D.G, C.P., M.G., C.C., F.T. acknowledge support from the U.S. DOE Office of Science, Fusion Energy Sciences under FWP No. 100182, and in part by the NSF Grant No. 1632708 and PHY-2308860. G.D.G. acknowledges support from the DOE NNSA SSGF programme under DE-NA0003960. A.G.R.T. and S.D. acknowledge support from the U.S. DOE Grant No. DE-SC0016804 and U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research Grant No. FA9550-19-1-0072 and U.S. Department of Energy NNSA Center of Excellence under cooperative agreement number DE-NA0004146. Z.N., O.E., G.H., and N.X. acknowledge support from the JAI, STFC grant no ST/P002021/1 and ST/V001639/1. P.McK, R.G and M.K. acknowledge support from EPSRC grant number EP/R006202/1. C.A.J.P. acknowledges support from EPSRC grant number EP/Y001737/1. B.L. acknowledges support from UK XFEL Physical Sciences Hub under agreement no. S2-2020-00020-8457. L. G. acknowledges support by the MŠMT ČR Project No. LQ1606 and by the project CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000789.

Keywords

laser accelerated protons
collimation
plasma-based accelerators
l1 lagrangian point

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10.1038/s41467-025-56248-4Licence: CC BY 4.0

Streeter-etal-NC-2025-Stable-laser-acceleration-of-high-flux-proton-beamsFinal published version, 2.89 MBLicence: CC BY 4.0

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Streeter, M. J. V., Glenn, G. D., Dilorio, S., Treffert, F., Loughran, B., Ahmed, H., Astbury, S., Borghesi, M., Bourgeois, N., Curry, C. B., Dann, S. J. D., Dover, N. P., Dzelzainis, T., Ettlinger, O. C., Gauthier, M., Giuffrida, L., Glenzer, S. H., Gray, R. J., Green, J. S., ... Palmer, C. A. J. (2025). Stable laser-acceleration of high-flux proton beams with plasma collimation. Nature Communications, 16, Article 1004. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56248-4

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abstract = "Laser-plasma acceleration of protons offers a compact, ultra-fast alternative to conventional acceleration techniques, and is being widely pursued for potential applications in medicine, industry and fundamental science. Creating a stable, collimated beam of protons at high repetition rates presents a key challenge. Here, we demonstrate the generation of multi-MeV proton beams from a fast-replenishing ambient-temperature liquid sheet. The beam has an unprecedentedly low divergence of 1° (≤20 mrad), resulting from magnetic self-guiding of the proton beam during propagation through a low density vapour. The proton beams, generated at a repetition rate of 5 Hz using only 190 mJ of laser energy, exhibit a hundred-fold increase in flux compared to beams from a solid target. Coupled with the high shot-to-shot stability of this source, this represents a crucial step towards applications.",

keywords = "laser accelerated protons, collimation, plasma-based accelerators, l1 lagrangian point",

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Streeter, MJV, Glenn, GD, Dilorio, S, Treffert, F, Loughran, B, Ahmed, H, Astbury, S, Borghesi, M, Bourgeois, N, Curry, CB, Dann, SJD, Dover, NP, Dzelzainis, T, Ettlinger, OC, Gauthier, M, Giuffrida, L, Glenzer, SH, Gray, RJ, Green, JS, Hicks, GS, Hyland, C, Istokskaia, V, King, M, Margarone, D, McCusker, O, McKenna, P, Najmudin, Z, Parisuaña, C, Parsons, P, Spindloe, C, Symes, DR, Thomas, AGR, Xu, N & Palmer, CAJ 2025, 'Stable laser-acceleration of high-flux proton beams with plasma collimation', Nature Communications, vol. 16, 1004. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56248-4

TY - JOUR

T1 - Stable laser-acceleration of high-flux proton beams with plasma collimation

AU - Streeter, M. J. V.

AU - Glenn, G. D.

AU - Dilorio, S.

AU - Treffert, F.

AU - Loughran, B.

AU - Ahmed, H.

AU - Astbury, S.

AU - Borghesi, M.

AU - Bourgeois, N.

AU - Curry, C. B.

AU - Dann, S. J. D.

AU - Dover, N. P.

AU - Dzelzainis, T.

AU - Ettlinger, O. C.

AU - Gauthier, M.

AU - Giuffrida, L.

AU - Glenzer, S. H.

AU - Gray, R. J.

AU - Green, J. S.

AU - Hicks, G. S.

AU - Hyland, C.

AU - Istokskaia, V.

AU - King, M.

AU - Margarone, D.

AU - McCusker, O.

AU - McKenna, P.

AU - Najmudin, Z.

AU - Parisuaña, C.

AU - Parsons, P.

AU - Spindloe, C.

AU - Symes, D. R.

AU - Thomas, A.G.R.

AU - Xu, N.

AU - Palmer, C. A. J.

PY - 2025/1/24

Y1 - 2025/1/24

N2 - Laser-plasma acceleration of protons offers a compact, ultra-fast alternative to conventional acceleration techniques, and is being widely pursued for potential applications in medicine, industry and fundamental science. Creating a stable, collimated beam of protons at high repetition rates presents a key challenge. Here, we demonstrate the generation of multi-MeV proton beams from a fast-replenishing ambient-temperature liquid sheet. The beam has an unprecedentedly low divergence of 1° (≤20 mrad), resulting from magnetic self-guiding of the proton beam during propagation through a low density vapour. The proton beams, generated at a repetition rate of 5 Hz using only 190 mJ of laser energy, exhibit a hundred-fold increase in flux compared to beams from a solid target. Coupled with the high shot-to-shot stability of this source, this represents a crucial step towards applications.

AB - Laser-plasma acceleration of protons offers a compact, ultra-fast alternative to conventional acceleration techniques, and is being widely pursued for potential applications in medicine, industry and fundamental science. Creating a stable, collimated beam of protons at high repetition rates presents a key challenge. Here, we demonstrate the generation of multi-MeV proton beams from a fast-replenishing ambient-temperature liquid sheet. The beam has an unprecedentedly low divergence of 1° (≤20 mrad), resulting from magnetic self-guiding of the proton beam during propagation through a low density vapour. The proton beams, generated at a repetition rate of 5 Hz using only 190 mJ of laser energy, exhibit a hundred-fold increase in flux compared to beams from a solid target. Coupled with the high shot-to-shot stability of this source, this represents a crucial step towards applications.

KW - laser accelerated protons

KW - collimation

KW - plasma-based accelerators

KW - l1 lagrangian point

UR - https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14236097

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-025-56248-4

DO - 10.1038/s41467-025-56248-4

M3 - Article

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 16

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

M1 - 1004

ER -

Stable laser-acceleration of high-flux proton beams with plasma collimation

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Nonlinear Optics and Dynamics of Relativistically Transparent Plasmas

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Stable laser-acceleration of high-flux proton beams with plasma collimation

Abstract

Funding

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Nonlinear Optics and Dynamics of Relativistically Transparent Plasmas

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