Dark matter is a well-established theoretical addition to the Standard Model supported by many observations in modern astrophysics and cosmology. In this context, the existence of weakly interacting massive particles represents an appealing solution to the observed thermal relic in the Universe. Indeed, a large experimental campaign is ongoing for the detection of such particles in the sub-GeV mass range. Adopt...
We measure the effects of transverse wakefields driven by a relativistic proton bunch in plasma with densities of 2.1×10^14 and 7.7×10^14 electrons/cm^3. We show that these wakefields periodically defocus the proton bunch itself, consistently with the development of the seeded self-modulation process. We show that the defocusing increases both along the bunch and along the plasma by using time resolved and time...
We give direct experimental evidence for the observation of the full transverse self-modulation of a long, relativistic proton bunch propagating through a dense plasma. The bunch exits the plasma with a periodic density modulation resulting from radial wakefield effects. We show that the modulation is seeded by a relativistic ionization front created using an intense laser pulse copropagating with the proton bu...
AWAKE is a proton-driven plasma wakefield acceleration experiment. We show that the experimental setup briefly described here is ready for systematic study of the seeded selfmodulation of the 400 GeV proton bunch in the 10 m long rubidium plasma with density adjustable from 1 to 10 × 1014 cm-3. We show that the short laser pulse used for ionization of the rubidium vapor propagates all the way along the column, ...
The AWAKE Collaboration has been formed in order to demonstrate proton-driven plasma wakefield acceleration for the first time. This acceleration technique could lead to future colliders of high energy but of a much reduced length when compared to proposed linear accelerators. The CERN SPS proton beam in the CNGS facility will be injected into a 10 m plasma cell where the long proton bunches will be modulated i...