Plasma acceleration

Plasma acceleration refers to a technique in particle acceleration that utilizes plasma, a state of matter consisting of charged particles (ions and electrons), to achieve high-energy particle beams. Traditional particle accelerators, like synchrotrons and linear accelerators (linacs), use electromagnetic fields to accelerate charged particles, typically taking a long distance to achieve significant energies. In contrast, plasma acceleration is based on the unique properties of plasma. One of the most common methods is called plasma wakefield acceleration.