Animation

An electron bunch passes through hydrogen plasma

An electron bunch passes through hydrogen plasma

Animation illustrating the concept of the Trojan horse method. An electron bunch from SLAC’s FACET facility (bright spot at right) passes through hydrogen plasma (purple), which creates a plasma bubble (blue). As the bubble moves through the plasma at nearly the speed of light, a laser pulse strips electrons (white dots) off of neutral helium atoms inside the plasma. The released electrons are trapped in the tail of the bubble where they gain energy (bright spot at left).

Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

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At SLAC’s FACET facility, researchers have produced an intense electron beam by 'sneaking’ electrons into plasma, demonstrating a method that could be used in future compact discovery machines that explore the subatomic world.

Trojan horse illustration
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