In the latest issue of ATAP News, learn how our researchers are advancing particle accelerator science and applications, including a new partnership that aims to advance reliable quantum computing, cutting-edge imaging techniques that harness the unique properties of muons, enhanced control of high-power lasers to support next-generation laser-plasma accelerators (LPAs), an innovative diagnostic tool for designing more efficient quantum processors for future quantum computers, and a plasma mirror that boosts the quality and efficiency of high-powered lasers used in LPAs.

Researchers from ATAP’s Berkeley Accelerator Controls and Instrumentation (BACI) Program have partnered with NVIDIA, the Computing Sciences Division, the Advanced Quantum Testbed, and the Quantum Systems Accelerator at Berkeley Lab, as well as the University of California, Berkeley, to integrate quantum processors with high-performance computing. This work aims to support advances in reliable quantum computing, which could lead to breakthroughs in fundamental science and new scientific discoveries.

Our BELLA Center researchers and their collaborators have used an LPA to develop a compact, high-energy, and collimated muon source, potentially enabling advanced imaging technologies. This is the first time that an LPA has been employed to characterize the properties of a muon beam as a potential source of highly penetrating particles for compact imaging applications. This work could support the development of a powerful new imaging technique for detecting hazardous, radioactive, and explosive materials, as well as for probing deep into mountains and underground structures such as mines and bunkers.

In a cross-divisional collaboration, Berkeley Lab researchers have developed a practical and scalable method for modeling the dynamics of crosstalk—unintentional interactions between neighboring qubits—in a quantum processor. The work, led by BACI in collaboration with the Lab’s Applied Mathematics & Computational Research Division and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at Berkeley Lab, enables modeling of multi-qubit circuit dynamics without the need for experiments, providing a diagnostic tool for characterizing whole-chip crosstalk and designing future quantum processors.

Researchers from BELLA and Ohio State University have demonstrated, for the first time, how a novel plasma mirror made from ultra-thin liquid crystal films can improve the quality and efficiency of high-powered lasers used in laser-plasma acceleration. Using BELLA’s Petawatt laser, this work could support advancements in high-energy-density science that may lead to new discoveries in inertial confinement fusion, laboratory astrophysics, and quantum electrodynamics.

Several ATAP researchers have recently been honored for their work in advancing particle accelerators and their applications.

BELLA Research Scientist Alex Picksley received the 2025 Simon van der Meer Early Career Award. The award, sponsored by the European Network for Novel Accelerators, recognizes outstanding early-career accomplishments in innovative accelerator science.

Axel Huebl, a research scientist in our Advanced Modeling Program, received the IEEE’s 2024 Computing in Science & Engineering Best Paper Award for co‑authoring “Then and Now: Improving Software Portability, Productivity, and 100× Performance,” an in‑depth review of selected software advances in the U.S. Exascale Computing Project.

Senior Scientist and former BELLA Director, Eric Esarey, has received the 2025 University of Michigan Prize for Excellence in Plasma Science and Engineering. The award, given annually, recognizes a researcher, educator, or manager for advances in plasma science and engineering that have or will significantly benefit society.

Jean-Luc Vay, head of the Advanced Modeling Program, received the IEEE NPSS Particle Accelerator Science and Technology Award 2025 for his contributions and leadership in computational beam and accelerator physics. Dillon Merenich, a Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research scholar in our BACI Program, earned a best student poster award for “Recent progress regarding enclosed RF cavities for future muon collider cooling channel.” They received their awards during the 2025 North American Particle Accelerator Conference, held from August 10 to 15 in Sacramento, California.

BELLA Senior Scientist and Deputy Director for Experiments, Jeroen van Tilborg, has been named a Fellow of the American Physical Society. The honor recognizes his pioneering work on next-generation laser-plasma accelerators and their applications.

Congratulations to all the honorees, and thank you for your hard work and dedication.

Written by Carl A. Williams or other authors as credited.

For more information on ATAP News articles, contact caw@lbl.gov.