Commissioning and first results from the new 2 × 100 TW laser at the WIS

Abstract

At the Weizmann Institute of Science, a new high-power-laser laboratory has been established that is dedicated to the fundamental aspects of laser-matter interaction in the relativistic regime and aimed at developing compact laser-plasma accelerators for delivering high-brightness beams of electrons, ions, and x rays. The HIGGINS laser system delivers two independent 100 TW beams and an additional probe beam, and this paper describes its commissioning and presents the very first results for particle and radiation beam delivery.