Group of Lasers and Plasmas

ACCELERATES featured in National TV show aired
during 2013 and 2014

The project ACCELERATES has been highlighted in the tv show 100 segundos de
ciência/100 seconds of science in a short documentary (100 seconds of duration)
describing the project and aired several times in prime time in 2013 and 2014.
Generation of miniature magnetised shockwaves

By interacting with minimagnetospheres, super-alfvénic plasma streams
can generate collisionless shocks with very distinct features, like solitary
(tsunami-like) magnetosonic waves.  In the figure, we represent the magnetic field
of a train of solitary waves (in blue tones) resulting from the interaction with a
minimagnetosphere, whose typical size is of a few ion Larmor radii. In orange/red
tones, we represent the electron fluid velocity component perpendicular to the
magnetic field, that illustrates the development of electron-scale instabilities
at the magnetopause.
Brillouin amplification: towards
next generation laser energy densities

This animation illustrates efficient energy transfer from a long and
energetic pump to a short probe laser pulse via stimulated
Brillouin backscattering. It is shown that the probe pulse can be
amplified to to high intensities (15x pump intensity) while
preserving a smooth envelope. Pushing the interaction
further leads to probe filamentation, which destroys the
probe envelope and limits the amplification process.
Cascading in laser pulses

The figure represents the development of an
electron-positron pair plasma at the focus of two
counter circularly polarized intense laser pulses.
The electrons, positrons and photons are respectively
colored in red, green and yellow. The laser pulses
are displayed in a rainbow color scale according
to the wave intensity. The arrows represent the field
lines of the electric field.
High-resolution x-ray 3D imaging of bone micro-structure

Osteoporosis impact on public health is sharply increasing justifying a significant effort to diagnose,
reat and understand this disease. Bones have been imaged with x-rays for almost a century and the
basic technology for clinical image is well established, but with the recent development of large scale
synchrotron light sources and high-end microfiches x-ray generators, imaging of the intricate bone inner
structure with a few micron resolution become possible. Laser driven betatron x-ray microscope was
built and used to demonstrate the feasibility of high-resolution bone imaging in the Astra-Gemini laser
facility (UK). A sample of femur trabecular bone was imaged from multiple angles and a 3D model of the
bone was built using tomographic techniques to a resolution below 50 micron. This demonstration renew
the interest in the development of compact laser-plasma electron accelerators and its applications. It also
opens prospects for its use in clinic diagnostics in the medium term.

Welcome to the website of the Group of Lasers and Plasmas of the Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear at Instituto Superior Técnico.

Latest News

Marija V delivers IST Physics Department Colloquium

Marija V has delivered the IST Physics Department Colloquium on April 11 with the seminar “Extreme Laser-matter Interactions”. The Physics Department Colloquium is held every week and aims to show case national and international speakers of relevance to the research and educational activities of the IST Physics Department. Read more

Diana A is awarded her PhD

Diana A has been awarded her PhD on “Controlled Plasma Wakefield Acceleration for Particle Acceleration Towards the Energy Frontier” under the supervision of Jorge V and co-supervision of Luis OS. The thesis defense took place April 6 2018 in the presence of the thesis committee Profs. L. Alves, R. Bingham, P. Muggli, J.P.Bizarro, and J. Vieira. Many congratulations to the new Doctor Diana Amorim! Read more

Latest Publications

Fully Kinetic Large-scale Simulations of the Collisionless Magnetorotational Instability, The Astrophysical Journal 859 (2018) p. 2
G. Inchingolo, T. Grismayer, N. F. Loureiro, R. A. Fonseca, L. O. Silva
Advantages to a diverging Raman amplifier, Communications Physics 1 (2018) p. 19
James D Sadler, Luís O Silva, Ricardo A Fonseca, Kevin Glize, Muhammad F Kasim, Alex Savin, Ramy Aboushelbaya, Marko W Mayr, Benjamin Spiers, Robin HW Wang, Robert Bingham, Raoul MGM Trines, Peter A Norreys
Conditions for the onset of the current filamentation instability in the laboratory, Journal of Plasma Physics 84 (2018) p. 905840302
N Shukla, J Vieira, P Muggli, G Sarri, R Fonseca, LO Silva
Fully kinetic Biermann battery and associated generation of pressure anisotropy, Physical Review E 97 (2018) p. 033204
KM Schoeffler, NF Loureiro, LO Silva

ACCELERATES featured in National TV show aired during 2013 and 2014

Generation of miniature magnetised shockwaves

Brillouin amplification: towardsnext generation laser energy densities

Cascading in laser pulses

High-resolution x-ray 3D imaging of bone micro-structure

Latest News

Marija V delivers IST Physics Department Colloquium

Diana A is awarded her PhD

Latest Publications

ACCELERATES featured in National TV show aired
during 2013 and 2014

Brillouin amplification: towards
next generation laser energy densities