_version_ 1866914450145017856
author Matheron, Aimé
Storey, Doug
Gilljohann, Max F.
Rego, Sheldon
Adli, Erik
Andriyash, Igor A.
Cao, Gevy J.
Davoine, Xavier
Emma, Claudio
Fiuza, Frederico
Gessner, Spencer
Gremillet, Laurent
Hansel, Claire
Joshi, Chan
Keitel, Christoph H.
Knetsch, Alexander
Lee, Valentina
Litos, Michael D.
Majernik, Nathan
Mankovska, Yuliia
O'Shea, Brendan
Rajkovic, Ivan
Claveria, Pablo San Miguel
Zakharova, Viktoriia
Zhang, Chaojie
Hogan, Mark J.
Tamburini, Matteo
Corde, Sébastien
author_facet Matheron, Aimé
Storey, Doug
Gilljohann, Max F.
Rego, Sheldon
Adli, Erik
Andriyash, Igor A.
Cao, Gevy J.
Davoine, Xavier
Emma, Claudio
Fiuza, Frederico
Gessner, Spencer
Gremillet, Laurent
Hansel, Claire
Joshi, Chan
Keitel, Christoph H.
Knetsch, Alexander
Lee, Valentina
Litos, Michael D.
Majernik, Nathan
Mankovska, Yuliia
O'Shea, Brendan
Rajkovic, Ivan
Claveria, Pablo San Miguel
Zakharova, Viktoriia
Zhang, Chaojie
Hogan, Mark J.
Tamburini, Matteo
Corde, Sébastien
contents Extreme beams of charged particles and photons, reaching ultrahigh densities or producing intense gamma-ray bursts, are central to accelerator physics, laboratory astrophysics, and strong-field quantum electrodynamics research. Yet their generation is hindered by conventional focusing methods at multi-GeV energies that rely on massive magnetic assemblies, limiting compactness and attainable density. Here we report the first experimental observation of a fundamentally new focusing mechanism, in which a high-energy charged-particle beam is focused by its own magnetic field reflected from a stack of thin metallic foils via near-field coherent-transition-radiation. The experiment, performed at SLAC's FACET-II facility, reveals strong, cumulative focusing across a broad range of beam configurations, enabled by the delivered 10 GeV, 1 nC, 10 Hz electron beam. The measurements closely agree with predictions from an analytical model and particle-in-cell simulations. These results demonstrate that multifoil focusing is a remarkably straightforward, self-aligned approach to the generation of ultrahigh density beams, opening a path to explore unprecedented regimes of beam-matter interaction and high-energy radiation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_27692
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Strong-field focusing of high-energy particles in beam-multifoil collisions
Matheron, Aimé
Storey, Doug
Gilljohann, Max F.
Rego, Sheldon
Adli, Erik
Andriyash, Igor A.
Cao, Gevy J.
Davoine, Xavier
Emma, Claudio
Fiuza, Frederico
Gessner, Spencer
Gremillet, Laurent
Hansel, Claire
Joshi, Chan
Keitel, Christoph H.
Knetsch, Alexander
Lee, Valentina
Litos, Michael D.
Majernik, Nathan
Mankovska, Yuliia
O'Shea, Brendan
Rajkovic, Ivan
Claveria, Pablo San Miguel
Zakharova, Viktoriia
Zhang, Chaojie
Hogan, Mark J.
Tamburini, Matteo
Corde, Sébastien
Accelerator Physics
Plasma Physics
Extreme beams of charged particles and photons, reaching ultrahigh densities or producing intense gamma-ray bursts, are central to accelerator physics, laboratory astrophysics, and strong-field quantum electrodynamics research. Yet their generation is hindered by conventional focusing methods at multi-GeV energies that rely on massive magnetic assemblies, limiting compactness and attainable density. Here we report the first experimental observation of a fundamentally new focusing mechanism, in which a high-energy charged-particle beam is focused by its own magnetic field reflected from a stack of thin metallic foils via near-field coherent-transition-radiation. The experiment, performed at SLAC's FACET-II facility, reveals strong, cumulative focusing across a broad range of beam configurations, enabled by the delivered 10 GeV, 1 nC, 10 Hz electron beam. The measurements closely agree with predictions from an analytical model and particle-in-cell simulations. These results demonstrate that multifoil focusing is a remarkably straightforward, self-aligned approach to the generation of ultrahigh density beams, opening a path to explore unprecedented regimes of beam-matter interaction and high-energy radiation.
title Strong-field focusing of high-energy particles in beam-multifoil collisions
topic Accelerator Physics
Plasma Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.27692