Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Recent advances in laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) provide a route to generate multi-GeV electron beams, enabling transportable, laser-driven muon sources.By directing the electron bunches onto high-Z targets, muons are produced through Bethe-Heitler pair creation and pion decay processes.The resulting pulsed flux can exceed the natural cosmic background while offering tunable energy and directionality.This work reviews the current status of laser-driven muon sources, scaling laws, experimental demonstrations at leading facilities, and detection techniques.Reported LWFA experiments have observed directed, high-energy and lower-energy, isotropic muon emissions.Measured muon lifetimes matched the well-known value, providing evidence of muon generation.We discuss performance projections for nextgeneration high-repetition-rate systems capable of substantially enhanced muon flux.Such compact sources open new opportunities for muon-radiography, nuclear security, high-energy physics research, and exploratory concepts such as muon-catalyzed fusion.Continued development of LWFA electron drivers and detector systems is critical to realizing these applications.
Authors: A. Cimmino, R. Versaci, A. Balaceanu, F. Bossi, S.V. Bulanov, L. Calvin, L. Chen, C. Daponta, T. Ditmire, M. Dobre, D. Doria, S. Eliezer, A. Erlandson, K. Fleck, T. Foster, E. Gerstmayr, P. Ghenuche, Y. Gu, Z. Henis, H. Maguire, D. Margarone, B. Miao, S.D. Moustaizis, M. Nevrkla, I. Ploumistakis, B. Reagan, E. Rockafellow, B. Rus, A. Saftoiu, G. Sarri, J.E. Shrock, J. Sisma, D. Terzani, M. Tytgat, P. Valenta, C. Vancea, W. Wang, J. Williams, F. Zhang, F. Zhou, G.M. Grittani
Institutions: Horia Hulubei National Institute for R and D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Queen's University Belfast, Institute of Modern Physics, Technical University of Crete, The University of Texas at Austin, Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, University of Maryland, College Park, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Colorado State University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Interuniversity Institute for High Energies, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, State Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics, Laser Fusion Research Center
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,900
OpenAlex ID: W7225188529