The epp projects PILARS: Particle and intense-laser interactions, acceleration, and radiation sources and Masers in Astrophysical Plasmas (MAPs), led by PIs Lucas Ivan Iñigo Gamiz and Pablo J. Bilbao, respectively. Have been awarded a total of 40 million core hours at the newest and largest supercomputer in Portugal Deucalion jointly funded by FCT and the European HPC Joint Undertaking. Both projects were among the top 4 projects submitted. They were selected due to the relevance of the topic, the cutting-edge methods available to the researchers at GoLP, and the expertise within the group.

The projects aim to study plasmas under extreme conditions in the laboratory and astrophysics. The PILARS project will investigate novel ways of accelerating electrons to high-charge, accelerating positrons, seeding of QED cascades, and provide reproducible experimental schemes for the up-and-coming commission of next-generation petawatt laser facilities.  MAPs aims to study how plasmas can produce coherent radiation relevant to understanding astronomical observations and developing new radiation sources here on Earth. Both projects will combine QED and plasma physics in new and exciting ways, probing matter at the frontier provided by the strongest laser intensities and the strongest electromagnetic fields in the universe.

Image on the right from: Babjak, R., L. Willingale, A. Arefiev, and M. Vranic. ‘Direct Laser Acceleration in Underdense Plasmas with Multi-PW Lasers: A Path to High-Charge, GeV-Class Electron Bunches’. Physical Review Letters 132, no. 12 (22 March 2024): 125001. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.125001.