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Job Opportunities within CBB
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Opportunities at non-CBB Laboratories
Stony Brook University & Brookhaven National Laboratory
Postdoctoral position in experimental laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) research
The experiments will be conducted at the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) of the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), utilizing the unique multi-beam capabilities at ATF. The primary focus of these experiments is to explore fundamental LWFA physics and to demonstrate the generation of high-brightness beams through two-color ionization injection schemes.
The experiments will utilize the upgraded multi-terawatt CO2 laser and the co-located LINAC-produced electron beam in conjunction with the available TW-class Ti:Sapphire laser. With ten-fold longer wavelength than typical high-power laser sources, a CO2 laser can drive a highly nonlinear plasma wave at low densities with a relatively low power of tens of terawatts (TW), whereas a near-IR drive pulse requires ~ multi-PW of power for driving an equivalent wake. The supersized structures that are generated (at typically hundreds of microns) allow for accurate alignment of multiple beams with the plasma wakefield, enabling unique experiments, with the two-color ionization injection being the most notable. In this experiment, the Ti:Sapphire laser ionizes electrons inside the wakefield driven by the CO2 laser, which in simulations has been shown to form low-emittance, bright beams. The successful candidate will participate in the first experimental demonstration of two-color ionization injection as well as other high-impact experiments that seek to examine the physical properties of LWFA in this unique regime.
Because of the multi-beam nature of the experiments, an ideal candidate will possess experimental laser skills, electron beam expertise, or a combination of the two. This research will be performed in collaboration with Prof. Vafaei-Najafabadi and Prof. Litvinenko (as the PIs), Stony Brook University’s graduate students, as well as external collaborators, in particular Brookhaven National Laboratory, UT Austin, and UCLA.
Please visit this link to apply for the position & don’t hesitate to contact Prof. Vafaei-Najafabadi (navid.vafaei-najafabadi@stonybrook.edu) for more details.