General information
Organisation
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.
Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.
The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
Reference
SL-DRF-24-0353
Direction
DRF
Thesis topic details
Category
Corpuscular physics and outer space
Thesis topics
Large-scale numerical modeling and optimization of a novel injector for laser-driven electron accelerators to enable their use for scientific and technological applications
Contract
Thèse
Job description
Ultra-short, high-energy (up to few GeVs) electron beams can be accelerated over just a few centimeters by making an ultra-intense laser interact with a gas-jet, with a technique called “Laser Wakefield Acceleration” (LWFA). Thanks to their small size and the ultra-short duration of the accelerated electron beams, these devices are potentially interesting for a variety of scientific and technological applications. However, LWFA accelerators do not usually provide enough charge for most of the envisaged applications, in particular if a high beam quality and a high electron energy are also required.
The first goal of this thesis is to understand the basic physics of a novel LWFA injector concept recently conceived in our group. This injector consists of a solid target coupled with a gas-jet, and should be able to accelerate a substantially higher amount of charge with respect to conventional strategies, while preserving at the same time the quality of the beam. Large scale numerical simulation campaigns and machine learning techniques will be used to optimize the properties of the accelerated electrons. The interaction of these electron beams with various samples will be simulated with Monte Carlo code to assess their potential for applications such as Muon Tomography and radiobiology/radiotherapy. The proposed activity is essentially numerical, but with the possibility to be involved in the experimental activities of the team.
The PhD student will have the opportunity to be part of a dynamic team with strong national and international collaborations. They will also acquire the necessary skills to participate in laser-plasma interaction experiments in international facilities. Finally, they will acquire the required skills to contribute to the development of a complex software written in modern C++ and designed to run efficiently on the most powerful supercomputers in the world: the state-of-the-art Particle-In-Cell code WarpX (prix Gordon Bell en 2022). The development activity will be carried out in collaboration with the team led by Dr. J.-L. Vay at LBNL (US), where the candidate could have the opportunity to spend a few months during the thesis.
University / doctoral school
Ondes et Matière (EDOM)
Paris-Saclay
Thesis topic location
Site
Saclay
Requester
Position start date
01/10/2024
Person to be contacted by the applicant
Fedeli Luca luca.fedeli@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/IRAMIS/LIDyL/PHI
LIDYL/PHI p.56
Site de l'Orme des merisiers
CEA Saclay,
91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette, FRANCE
+33 1 69 08 19 59
Tutor / Responsible thesis director
VINCENTI Henri henri.vincenti@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/IRAMIS/LIDyL/PHI
CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette, FRANCE
0169080376
En savoir plus
https://iramis.cea.fr/LIDYL/Phocea/Pisp/index.php?nom=henri.vincenti
https://iramis.cea.fr/LIDYL/PHI/
https://www.olcf.ornl.gov/2022/10/27/warpx-named-gordon-bell-prize-finalist/