Control of Powerful Plasma Accelerators Improved With Artificial Intelligence

The gas cell used as a plasma source. The laser arrives from the right of these images through the metal cone and enters the little cube, which is filled with gas. The laser ionizes the gas and turns it into a plasma and creates the accelerator. Researchers have used AI to control beams for the next generation of smaller, cheaper accelerators for research, medical and industrial applications. Experiments led by Imperial College London researchers, using the Science and Technology Facilities Council's Central Laser Facility (CLF), showed that an algorithm was able to tune the complex parameters involved in controlling the next generation of plasma-based particle accelerators.