Principal Investigators
Luis O. Silva 

Research Interests: Check my personal webpage here
Latest Publications:- Magnetic frame-dragging correction to the electromagnetic solution of a compact neutron star, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 524 (2023) p. 4116
- High-energy synchrotron flares powered by strongly radiative relativistic magnetic reconnection: 2D and 3D PIC simulations, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 523 (2023) p. 3812–3839
- Proton acceleration with intense twisted laser light, Physical Review Research 5 (2023) p. 023083
Ricardo Fonseca

- The AWAKE Run 2 Programme and Beyond, Symmetry 14 (2022) p. 1680
- Interaction between electrostatic collisionless shocks generates strong magnetic fields, New Journal of Physics 24 (2022) p. 063016
- Slowdown of interpenetration of two counterpropagating plasma slabs due to collective effects, Physical Review E 105 (2022) p. 035204
Jorge Vieira 

Research Interests: My research employs advanced computing and theory to exploit the properties of intense lasers and particle beams towards compact plasma-based accelerators and light sources. The focus of my recent work is on structured light, on how it interacts with plasma at ultra-high intensity, and on superradiant emission mechanisms in plasma. I am involved in the AWAKE experiment at CERN, and, whenever possible, I collaborate with both theoreticians and experimentalists with whom I seek to participate and elaborate experimental proposals to test novel ideas.
Latest Publications:- Positron acceleration in plasma waves driven by non-neutral fireball beams, Physical Review Accelerators and Beams 26 (2023) p. 091301
- Proton acceleration with intense twisted laser light, Physical Review Research 5 (2023) p. 023083
- Mitigation of the Onset of Hosing in the Linear Regime through Plasma Frequency Detuning, Physical Review Letters 130 (2023) p. 115001
Thomas Grismayer

Research Interests: - Ion acceleration in dense target irradiated by intense laser (plasma expansion models) - Parametric instabilities related to inertial fusion (nonlinear and multiple dimensional effects associated with electron plasma waves) - Shear instabilities (magnetic field generation, particle acceleration) - QED effects in plasma in extreme high fields laser setup (pair cascades, gamma-ray emission) and in astrophysics (magnetic reconnection, neutron stars modeling)
Latest Publications:- Magnetic frame-dragging correction to the electromagnetic solution of a compact neutron star, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 524 (2023) p. 4116
- High-energy synchrotron flares powered by strongly radiative relativistic magnetic reconnection: 2D and 3D PIC simulations, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 523 (2023) p. 3812–3839
- Model of pulsar pair cascades in non-uniform electric fields: Growth rate, density profile, and screening time, Physics of Plasmas 29 (2022) p. 052902
PhD Researchers
Marija Vranic

Research Interests: radiation reaction, wakefield acceleration, classical-QED transitions in plasma
Latest Publications:- Creation and direct laser acceleration of positrons in a single stage, Physical Review Accelerators and Beams 26 (2023) p. 011301
- Optimal laser focusing for positron production in laser–electron scattering, New Journal of Physics 23 (2021) p. 115001
- Collisionless shock acceleration in the corona of an inertial confinement fusion pellet with possible application to ion fast ignition, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A 379 (2021) p. 20200039
Post-Doctoral Fellows
Lucas Ivan Inigo Gamiz

Research Interests: Laser-Plasma interactions, QED Cascades, Radiation Reaction, Plasma Instabilities, High-Field Physics, Machine/Deep Learning, Particle-in-Cell Codes.
Thales Silva

Research Interests: Density down-ramp injection in LWFA; ion motion, plasma heating, and long-time evolution in plasma accelerators; laser-plasma interaction.
Latest Publications:- Positron acceleration in plasma waves driven by non-neutral fireball beams, Physical Review Accelerators and Beams 26 (2023) p. 091301
- Weibel instability beyond bi-Maxwellian anisotropy, Physical Review E 104 (2021) p. 035201
- Stable Positron Acceleration in Thin, Warm, Hollow Plasma Channels, Physical Review Letters 127 (2021) p. 104801
Bertrand Martinez

Research Interests: Relativistic laser-plasma interaction, radiative and quantum electrodynamics processes, ion acceleration, neutron sources, particle-in-cell codes, high-performance computing, beam-plasma instabilities, fireball model, Gamma Ray Bursts
Latest Publications:- Creation and direct laser acceleration of positrons in a single stage, Physical Review Accelerators and Beams 26 (2023) p. 011301
- Compton-driven beam formation and magnetization via plasma microinstabilities, Journal of Plasma Physics 87 (2021) p. 905870313
- Synchrotron radiation from ultrahigh-intensity laser-plasma interactions and competition with Bremsstrahlung in thin foil targets, Physical Review Research 2 (2020) p. 043341
Graduate Students
Róbert Babjak

Diogo Carvalho

Rafael Almeida

Rui Torres

Research Interests: Extremely High-Intensity Laser Physics, Vacuum polarization, QED processes below the critical Schwinger regime, High Harmonic generation from light scattering scenarios in extreme intense fields, general relativity, astrophysical plasmas, pulsar and black hole magnetospheres.
Latest Publications:- Magnetic frame-dragging correction to the electromagnetic solution of a compact neutron star, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 524 (2023) p. 4116
- Quantum Electrodynamics vacuum polarization solver, New Journal of Physics 23 (2021) p. 095005
Mariana Moreira

Research Interests: plasma wakefield acceleration, hosing instability, self-modulation instability
Latest Publications:- Mitigation of the Onset of Hosing in the Linear Regime through Plasma Frequency Detuning, Physical Review Letters 130 (2023) p. 115001
- The AWAKE Run 2 Programme and Beyond, Symmetry 14 (2022) p. 1680
- Analysis of proton bunch parameters in the AWAKE experiment, Journal of Instrumentation 16 (2021) p. P11031
Miguel Pardal

- Nonlinear Thomson scattering with ponderomotive control, Physical Review E 105 (2022) p. 065201
- Generalized superradiance for producing broadband coherent radiation with transversely modulated arbitrarily diluted bunches, Nature Physics 17 (2021) p. 99-104
Bernardo Malaca

Research Interests: Laser Plasma Wakefield Acceleration, spatiotemporal correlated light pulses, particle-in-cell codes.
Latest Publications:- Arbitrarily structured laser pulses, Physical Review Research 5 (2023) p. 013085
- Exact solutions for the electromagnetic fields of a flying focus, Physical Review A 107 (2023) p. 013513
- Nonlinear Thomson scattering with ponderomotive control, Physical Review E 105 (2022) p. 065201
Camilla Willim

- Proton acceleration with intense twisted laser light, Physical Review Research 5 (2023) p. 023083
Chiara Badiali

- Machine-learning-based models in particle-in-cell codes for advanced physics extensions, Journal Of Plasma Physics 88 (2022) p. issue 6
Pablo Bilbao

Research Interests: Laser-plasma interactions, Ion acceleration in dense target irradiated by intense laser, electron acceleration, astrophysical plasmas, particle-in-cell codes, high-performance computing
Latest Publications:- Radiation reaction cooling as a source of anisotropic momentum distributions with inverted populations, Physical Review Letters 130 (2023) p. 165101
- Machine-learning-based models in particle-in-cell codes for advanced physics extensions, Journal Of Plasma Physics 88 (2022) p. issue 6
Óscar Amaro

- Optimal laser focusing for positron production in laser–electron scattering, New Journal of Physics 23 (2021) p. 115001
Filipe Cruz

- Strong collisionless coupling between an unmagnetized driver plasma and a magnetized background plasma, Physics of Plasmas 30 (2023) p. 052901
- Laser-driven, ion-scale magnetospheres in laboratory plasmas. I. Experimental platform and first results, Physics of Plasmas 29 (2022) p. 042901
- Laser-driven, ion-scale magnetospheres in laboratory plasmas. II. Particle-in-cell simulations, Physics of Plasmas 29 (2022) p. 032902
Bernardo Barbosa

- Creation and direct laser acceleration of positrons in a single stage, Physical Review Accelerators and Beams 26 (2023) p. 011301
MSc. Students
Gabriel Rouxinol

Francisco Assunção
