Bjorn Manuel Hegelich
The University of Texas at Austin
Seminar Information
Center for Magnetic Recording Research (CMRR)
Auditorium (Immediately left upon entry)
Recent years have seen transformative advances in laser-driven accelerator systems in terms of reliability, reproducibility, and performance parameters including bunch energy, charge, and emittance. At UT Austin, we have investigated and developed the underlying scientific principles that enable laser plasma acceleration (LPA) achieving unprecedented acceleration gradients exceeding 100 GV/m—four orders of magnitude higher than conventional radio-frequency accelerators.
At TAU Systems, Inc., we are integrating these advances into practical systems, at our new TAU Labs facility in Carlsbad, CA, enabling the transition from laboratory demonstrations to market-ready applications. The development of these systems requires close collaboration across multiple physics and engineering sub-disciplines, including laser, plasma and quantum physics, alongside mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, control systems, computer and software engineering, AI/ML, computational fluid dynamics, and thermal engineering on the technical implementation side.
We will present recent results on laser-driven particle acceleration and our current efforts to utilize these systems as drivers for ultracompact light sources, and applications in aerospace and semiconductor technology, and medical physics. Recent achievements include a new world record in laser electron acceleration to beyond 10 GeV using the world’s only operating 10 PW laser, a the demonstration of a LPA-driven free electron laser with a gain of >1,000x over 8 hours of continuous operation as well as the commissioning of our high average power, 100Hz 10 TW drive laser at TAU Labs, Carlsbad.
This work represents the maturation of laser-plasma acceleration from a laboratory curiosity to a practical technology with transformative potential across multiple fields. The transition from fundamental research to commercial applications demonstrates the potential for university-industry partnerships to accelerate the translation of breakthrough physics into societal benefits.
Full Name: Bjorn Manuel Hegelich
Position: CEO / Professor
Affiliation: TAU Systems / University of Texas at Austin
Email: hegelich@physics.utexas.edu
LinkedIn profile (optional): https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjorn-m-hegelich-b96a2954/
Google Scholar profile (optional): https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CydQVVgAAAAJ&hl=en
ORCID (optional): https://orcid.org/my-orcid?orcid=0000-0003-4709-3112
Prof. B. M. Hegelich a Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, leading the research group for Relativistic Quantum Photonics and. His research includes laser-driven particle and photon sources, and their applications, quantum effects in intense fields, relativistic laser-matter interaction, fusion research, high energy density physics, and ultrahigh intensity laser technology. He is the founder of TAU Systems Inc. a deeptech company commercializing compact particle accelerators and light sources for space, semiconductors and bio-medical applications. From 2018-2019 Prof. Hegelich served as the Associate Director of the Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute of Basic Sciences, the world’s first multi-PW laser and Full Professor at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology. He was a scientist and Team Leader at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he led the Trident Ultrahigh Intensity experiments. From 2008-2010 he was appointed Visiting Professor for ”Relativistic Laser Particle Acceleration for Nuclear Physics and Medicine” and Fellow at the Center for Advanced studies at the Ludwig-Maximilian-University München (LMU). Dr. Hegelich graduated from Napier University Edinburgh and Georg-August-University Göttingen. He obtained his doctorate at LMU München and the Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics, pioneering ion acceleration with ultrahigh intensity lasers. His accomplishments include the current world record for laser-electron acceleration, demonstrating >10 GeV electrons over an acceleration distance of just 10cm, the first demonstration of of mono-energetic laser-ion acceleration, the first demonstration of ion acceleration in Transparent Overdense Plasmas and the development of the highest contrast laser. He co-authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications with more than 11,000 citations.
SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES & Affiliations
1. Patent “PARTICLE-ASSISTED WAKEFIELD ELECTRON ACCELERATION DEVICES”, 63212889, 06/23/2021
2. Member of the Accelerator Test Facility Program Advisory Committee (APAC), Brookhaven National Laboratory
3. Member of the GARD (General Accelerator R&D) Review Panel, DOE OFS - HEP
4. Associate Member of the AWAKE collaboration at CERN
5. Associated Editor for "Laser and Particle Beams", Cambridge Univ. Press.
6. Editorial Board Member "Matter and Radiation at Extremes (MRE)", Elsevier/CAEP