Implementation of an ultra-high-intensity laser as a multi-user scientific infrastructure in Brazil

Abstract

FINEP, a federal funding agency of Brazil, has approved a project to implement a relativistic laser to serve as a multi-user research infrastructure. The laser, which will start operations in 2026 at IPEN, will generate pulses with 35 fs and 0.5 J at 800 nm, with 15 TW of peak power, at 10 Hz, with intensity exceeding 10^19 W/cm2. This system will function as a compact electron and proton accelerator and will create extreme conditions similar to those found inside stars, enabling nuclear microfusion studies and expanding the electromagnetic radiation spectrum available to the scientific community in Brazil.