Progress Report on the Commissioning of the ZEUS Facility

ORAL

Abstract

The Zettawatt Equivalent Ultrashort Pulse Laser System (ZEUS) is a user facility funded by the National Science Foundation and located at the University of Michigan. ZEUS consists of a repetitive dual-beamline 3 PW laser system, a programmable multi-nanosecond pulse driver capable of delivering 100 J of energy, and three experimental areas with radiation shielding. It offers unique capabilities for studying fields such as nonlinear quantum electrodynamics, relativistic plasmas, particle acceleration, extreme laboratory astrophysics, and nuclear photonics. Access to the ZEUS facility is granted by an independent review panel based on the scientific merit of the proposals submitted. During the 2024 fiscal year, seven user experiments, each lasting one month, were conducted on ZEUS. An additional eight experiments are scheduled for 2025. This presentation will provide an update on the progress of the ZEUS facility's performance, including the laser, target areas, and radiation shielding. It will also discuss the results of the initial commissioning experiment on laser wakefield electron acceleration and betatron radiation generation at the 1 PW level.

*The ZEUS facility construction and operation is supported by the National Science Foundation under award 1935950 and 2126181, as well as by the AFOSR grant number FA9550-21-1-0264 and the University of Michigan.

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Presenters

  • Anatoly M Maksimchuk

    • University of Michigan

Authors

  • Anatoly M Maksimchuk

    • University of Michigan

  • John Nees

    • UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

  • Bixue Hou

    • University of MIchigan

  • Richard Anthony

    • University of Michigan

  • Franko Bayer

    • University of Michigan

  • Milos Burger

    • University of Michigan

  • Paul T Campbell

    • University of Michigan

  • Galina Kalinchenko

    • University of Michigan

  • Sallee Rae Klein

    • University of Michigan

  • Yong Ma

    • University of Michigan

  • Gregg Sucha

    • University of Michigan

  • Richard Van Camp

    • University of Michigan

  • Lauren Weinberg

    • University of Michigan

  • Grant Young

    • University of Michigan

  • Grant Young

    • University of Michigan

  • Junwoo Bae

    • University of Michigan

  • Jason A Cardarelli

    • University of Michigan

  • Veronica Contreras

    • University of Michigan

  • Nicholas P Ernst

    • University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

  • Joshua L Latham

    • University of Michigan

  • William Likes

    • University of Michigan

  • Tanner Nutting

    • University of Michigan

  • Igor Jovanovic

    • University of Michigan

  • Carolyn C Kuranz

    • University of Michigan

  • Alec G.R. Thomas

    • University of Michigan
    • Michigan University

  • Louise Willingale

    • University of Michigan

  • Karl Michael Krushelnick

    • University of Michigan