Status and Trends in Laser Plasma Wakefield Accelerators

It has been 30 years since the first generation of ultra-relativistic electron beams was produced using intense lasers. Today, thanks to the contributions of a thriving scientific community, laser-wakefield accelerators (LWFA) are delivering in many places high-quality electron beams in a compact and reliable manner indicating that they are transforming the scientific landscape, creating opportunities for both applied and fundamental research. On one hand, they hold promise for innovative applications in medicine and industry; on the other, they provide powerful tools for exploring ultrafast physical phenomena. Many of these applications critically depend on precise characterization of both the accelerated electron bunches and the plasma wakefields that govern their quality. Yet, the advanced diagnostics required to probe these highly transient, microscopic structures remain a formidable challenge.

After introducing the physical principles behind plasma-based accelerators, grounded in our ability to manipulate relativistic electrons with intense laser pulses, I will present key recent breakthroughs from the Weizmann Institute of Science. These include the first real-time visualization of laser-driven nonlinear relativistic plasma waves, their transition to electron-driven wakefields, and femtosecond-resolution microscopy of relativistic electron bunches.

The tutorial will conclude with a brief overview of the practical applications of these advances, including an update on our ebeam4therapy project within the EIC initiative and recent progress at ELI-NP with a discussion of the scientific direction for the next two years, focusing on new opportunities in particle acceleration and the exploration of strong-field quantum electrodynamics (SF QED). Finally, I will reflect on the broader implications of these technologies for both science and society.