ELI LARGE SCIENTIFIC PROJECT combination with secondary sources driven by PW-class lasers for pumpprobe user experiments. To fully exploit these capabilities, ELI Beamlines continuously develops and provides advanced target delivery systems and diagnostics designed to operate under extreme laser – plasma conditions and high repetition rates, ensuring reliable and efficient experimental performance for its user community.
ELI Nuclear Physics
The Extreme Light Infrastructure Nuclear Physics( ELI-NP) facility in Măgurele, Romania, hosts one the most powerful laser systems in the world: the High Power Laser System( HPLS). Together with the Gamma Beam System( GBS), the HPLS is designed to push the frontiers of nuclear physics, particle acceleration, and high-field science. The HPLS is a dual-arm, 10 PW femtosecond laser system based on chirped pulse amplification( CPA) technology. Each arm is capable of delivering laser pulses with energies of approximately 220 J, compressed to pulse durations of about 22 fs. This performance enables the achievement of peak powers up to 10 PW at a repetition rate of one shot per minute 2. In addition to the 10 PW capability, each arm provides auxiliary output beams operating at lower power but higher repetition rates, namely 100 TW at 10 Hz and 1 PW at 1 Hz, offering a broad range of experimental operating regimes. The HPLS features an exceptional temporal contrast exceeding 10 ¹², ensuring that the main pulse is overwhelmingly dominant with respect to pre-pulses and amplified spontaneous emission( ASE). This high contrast is essential for experiments involving relativistic laser-matter interactions, as it preserves target integrity prior to the arrival of the main pulse. Furthermore, the excellent spatial beam quality enables focusing to ultra-high intensities approaching 10 ²³ W / cm ², thereby providing access to extreme regimes of light-matter interaction relevant for advanced particle acceleration, laboratory astrophysics, and strong-field quantum electrodynamics.
Conclusion
The ELI Facilities stand at the frontier of high-field science, offering an unprecedented platform to explore matter under extreme electromagnetic fields and to push the limits of laser – matter interaction. As the capabilities of ultra-intense and ultra-short pulse lasers continue to advance, ELI provides the perfect environment where fundamental discoveries can translate into transformative technologies. ELI is positioned to address some of the most pressing scientific and technological challenges of our time— ranging from clean energy and nuclear photonics to space science, enabling breakthroughs in health through novel imaging and radiotherapy approaches. By combining cutting-edge infrastructure, international collaboration, and interdisciplinary research, ELI will shape the future of high-field science and its societal applications.
REFERENCES
[ 1 ] Whitebook ELI – Extreme Light Infrastructure; Science and Technology with ultra-intense lasers, Mourou, Korn, Sandner and Collier( Eds)( 2011) Andreas Thoss- https:// www. eli-laser. eu / media / 1019 / eli-whitebook. pdf
[ 2 ] ELI User Portal- https:// up. eli-laser. eu /
2 https:// www. eli-np. ro
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