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Welcome to our MID-IR MURI titled “Harnessing Strong-Field Mid-Infrared (IR) Lasers: Designer Beams of Relativistic Particles and THz-to-X-ray Light”. We are part of a new class of MURIs awarded in 2016.

Our evolving understanding of strong-field laser-matter interactions has led to a revolution in optical science. The high harmonic generation process makes it possible to generate coherent, laser-like, beams X-rays on a tabletop by harnessing the quantum dynamics of laser-driven electrons. Laser-particle accelerators exploit colossal electric fields in plasmas to produce quasi-monoenergetic ion, electron, and hard X-ray beams. Finally, nonlinear interactions can guide intense laser light energy over extended distances.

However, until very recently, experimental realities limited our ability to study a critical variable: the wavelength of the intense driving laser. Our MID-IR MURI research will address this critical challenge.