Jorge Vieira, an IPFN researcher and Associate Professor in the Physics Department at Instituto Superior Técnico, has reached an important milestone in his academic journey by successfully completing his Aggregation in Physics. The two-day examination took place on January 13th and 14th, 2025, at IST.

The exam featured two main components: a Curricular Unit Report on the Introduction to Plasma Physics course and a seminar titled “Plasma-based Accelerators and Light Sources: An Overview from the Past to the Future.” Prof. Luís Lemos Alves led the jury with other distinguished members including Peter Norreys, Caterina Riconda, Brigitte Cros, and Frederico Fiúza.

This achievement highlights Jorge’s commitment and significant contributions to plasma physics, particularly in the field of plasma-based particle accelerators and innovative laser pulses.

Congratulations, Jorge!

A study of high harmonic generation in materials relevant to power electronics, led by GoLP members, has been published in the journal Optics Express. The work was collaborative between GoLP, ELI-Alps, CTN, and INM Japan. The lead author is Mukhtar Hussein, currently an Associate Researcher at Arizona State University.

As part of the FCT RNCA call for computing time, Gareth Williams was awarded 2 million CPU hours to investigate materials in extreme conditions using Deucalion. This computational time will support his work carried out under his FCT CEEC grant, and model dense quantum plasmas created at VOXEL, and solid density photo ionised plasmas created by X-ray free electron lasers

Members of GoLP from the VOXEL team (Lucas Ansia, Gareth Williams and Marta Fajardo) participated in the Radiative Properties of Warm Dense Matter (RPHDM 2024) conference in Paris, which focused on theoretical and experimental advancements in dense plasmas. Key topics included opacity calculations and novel experiments conducted at world-class facilities. Gareth Williams presented experimental results on the role of the shake-off process in the warm dense matter regime, while Lucas Ansia discussed modeling XFEL-solid interactions, highlighting the importance of accounting for non-thermal electron distributions.

The project Realistic Simulations of Relativistic Plasmas in Astrophysical and Laboratory Environments, led by GoLP researchers Thales Silva and Pablo Bilbao, has been awarded 30 million CPU core hours on the MareNostrum 5 supercomputer through the Rede Nacional de Computação Avançada. This allocation will support cutting-edge research into the behavior of relativistic plasmas under extreme conditions, with applications to both astrophysical phenomena and laboratory experiments.

Relativistic plasmas, commonly found near compact astrophysical objects such as pulsars and magnetars, play a central role in producing coherent radiation and mediating the interaction of particles with intense magnetic fields. These processes are critical to understanding phenomena like Fast Radio Bursts and pulsar emissions. The awarded resources will also aid in studying similar dynamics in high-intensity laser-plasma experiments, enabling controlled investigations of these extreme conditions in the laboratory.
This project integrates astrophysical theory, computational modeling, and experimental design to address key challenges in plasma physics. By…

PhD student Diogo C went to Huntsville, Alabama, from October 28th to October 30th, 2024 to attent the 1st FTPP Annual International AL Plasma Physics Conference (AIAPC) – AI-Informed Plasma Physics: the Opportunities. He gave a talk containing the recent work preformed by GoLP/IST & UCLA on combining machine learning algorithms and plasma simulators.

We support postdoctoral researchers in Plasma Physics, Advanced Photonics and Advanced Computing to apply for FCT Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus. Deadline for applications: November 29, 2024; 5pm
Please contact us if you are interested, and check our other opportunities. 

Some of our GoLP members went to Atlanta, Georgia USA to attend the 66th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics, held on 7-11 October 2024, and presented a talk about their recent work.
In the first picture: Frederico F, Diogo C, Paulo A, Bernardo B, Thales S, Kevin S and Luis G.

Here, are some pictures from the event:

José M, a master’s student in epp, has been awarded the ‘Talentos Quânticos’ scholarship. This initiative by the Portuguese Quantum Institute is designed to support young researchers in the field of Quantum Science and Technologies, including Quantum Computing, by providing financial assistance for research on a related topic. Congratulations to José!

Last Saturday, the 37th European Conference on Laser Interaction with Matter (ECLIM 2024) was successfully concluded. GoLP was part of the organization and some team members also presented their work. Our GoLP members Sofiia P, Lucas A, Lucas I, Óscar A, Zahra M, Pablo B, Robert B, Bernardo B, Camilla W, Rafael A, Anthony MB and Filipe DC presented a poster, while Chiara B, Thales S, Thomas G and Marija V gave a talk.

Here are some pictures from the event:

Our team members Róbert Babjak and Thales Silva attended the 21st International Congress on Plasma Physics held on 8th to 13th September in Ghent, Belgium, to present invited talks about their recent work. Thales presented his recent results on the generation of unstable plasmas with laser-matter interactions and Róbert presented his results on direct laser acceleration mechanisms and its possibility as a high-brilliance gamma-ray source.

Marco Piccardo, a key collaborator of GoLP (Group of Lasers and Plasmas) and IPFN, as well as a professor at Instituto Superior Técnico and researcher at INESC-MN, has been awarded a prestigious €1.5 million ERC Starting Grant. His cutting-edge “metaPOWER” project will explore high-power laser-plasma interactions using meta-optics, with some experimental work to be carried out at GoLP. This research holds potential for advancements in fusion energy, particle acceleration, and radiation sources combining high intensity lasers and plasmas.

More information here.
Links also to Physics Department, and INESC-MN.

Foto by Maria Carolina | Instituto Superior Técnico

Epp team members were awarded with a 20 million core-hour allocation at the TIER-0 supercomputer Marenostrum V at the Barcelona Supercomputer Center. The allocation was granted by Rede Nacional de Computação Avançada (RNCA). The project “Modeling Extreme Plasma Accelerators and Light Sources” will investigate advanced plasma accelerators and light sources in combination with structured light, focusing on high-quality electron acceleration and superradiant emission in plasma-based accelerators.

During the Advanced Accelerators Concepts Workshop 2024 our PhD student Carolina Amoedo won the Best Student Poster Award. She received this award by presenting the work “Demonstration of proton bunch self-modulation in a discharge plasma source”. Many congratulations to Carolina!

Our research group has been awarded 9 million CPU hours on Cineca’s Leonardo supercomputer in Italy. This significant allocation in Leonardo, one of Europe’s leading supercomputers, will support our efforts in the understanding of plasma instabilities in exotic scenarios. The allocation is led by Thales Silva as PI.

Figure: Simulation result of the magnetic field from the Weibel instability in exotic plasmas