2025 ECRP abstracts
The 2025 ECRP (Early Career Research Program) awards were just announced by the DOE. A few accelerator- and plasma-related proposals:
Tailoring Phase Space Correlations for Future Accelerators
Gwanghui Ha (Northern Illinois University)
Over the past several decades, phase space manipulation has been a key factor in advancing the performance of particle accelerators by enabling control over the spatial and momentum distributions of charged particle beams. Among various strategies, the control of correlations within phase space—such as between position and momentum or energy and time—has emerged as a critical tool for shaping beam properties to meet application-specific requirements. Most modern accelerator techniques rely on these correlations, yet existing methods are limited to linear or low- order polynomial forms. This constraint prevents access to more complex beam distributions that could significantly improve accelerators’ performance such as the luminosity of particle colliders or the efficiency of acceleration. The proposed project aims to establish a new framework for tailoring phase space correlations using cosine-basis approximations. This approach removes the limitations of traditional polynomial-based methods and enables precise control of nonlinear structures in phase space. The project will implement new modulation hardware and beamline configurations to realize these correlations experimentally, with demonstration goals that include improved wakefield acceleration efficiency, generation of high-brightness electron beams, and control of multidimensional phase space. These developments will address several priorities identified for particle colliders and in general accelerator R&D roadmaps and support future advances across a range of accelerator platforms.
Maximizing Helium-3 Polarization at the Electron Ion Collider
Kiel Hock (Brookhaven National Laboratory)
The Electron Ion Collider (EIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) will quantify the contribution of spin from quarks and gluons to the total angular momentum of nucleons. Polarized neutron beams and polarized proton beams are essential for this quantization. The most promising path to polarized neutron beams is the acceleration and storage of a polarized helium-3 beam. While polarized protons have been established at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and its injectors for several decades, polarized helium-3 is undeveloped at RHIC or its injectors. The EIC will use the existing RHIC injectors, the Booster and Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS), and repurpose the RHIC into the EIC’s Hadron Storage Ring (HSR). Due to properties of the helium-3 nucleus relative to protons, helium-3 is more susceptible to polarization loss as it is accelerated. This project will investigate the polarization transmission of polarized helium-3 beams at the EIC hadron accelerator complex. Extensive simulations to optimize transmission in the Booster, the AGS, and the HSR will be performed, in addition to studies in the Booster and AGS. In the Booster and the AGS, the studies of polarized helium-3 will bring them to an energy that is three orders of magnitude higher than what has previously been achieved.
Maximizing Electron Beam Intensity for High-Brightness Synchrotron Light Sources
Aamna Khan (Brookhaven National Laboratory)
Next-generation synchrotron light sources promise unprecedented X-ray brightness, enabling transformative advances in materials, chemical, and biological sciences. However, achieving these brightness levels requires electron beams with particle densities significantly higher than in existing synchrotrons, leading to enhanced particle interactions within the beam and with accelerator surroundings, which can degrade beam quality and limit achievable X-ray brightness. To overcome these fundamental limits, this project advances the understanding of critical beam interactions— particularly intrabeam scattering and Touschek scattering—by using innovative theoretical approaches inspired by plasma physics. It further explores new techniques using multi-harmonic radiofrequency cavity systems designed to stretch electron bunches, thus reducing their particle density and enhancing stability. By integrating theory, advanced simulations, and experimental validation at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), in collaboration with other leading facilities, this research tackles critical limitations in beam intensity. The outcomes will support the Department of Energy’s goals, pushing forward the capabilities of future diffraction-limited synchrotron facilities and enabling groundbreaking scientific discoveries.
Energy and Entropy in Nonthermal Turbulent Plasmas
Vladimir Zhdankin (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Energy and entropy are two of the most fundamental quantities in physics: energy is conserved but can be redistributed amongst different components of a system, while entropy (a measure of disorder) tends to increase according to the second law of thermodynamics. Together, these two quantities impose rigorous constraints on the possible dynamics of a complex system. However, their general relationship remains elusive in nonequilibrium systems such as collisionless plasmas, which do not relax to the expected thermal equilibrium (the state of maximum entropy). The proposed work attempts to quantify the relationship between energy and entropy in collisionless plasmas that experience turbulence, where conventional approaches from equilibrium statistical mechanics do not apply. Specifically, the project will use analytical theory and kinetic numerical simulations to address the following question: when energy is injected into a turbulent plasma, what happens to the entropy as the system relaxes to a nonthermal state? The research will explore generalizations to entropy and the laws of thermodynamics for magnetized, nonthermal plasmas. The kinetic turbulence simulations will incorporate: i) varying background magnetic fields, ii) weak Coulomb collisions, and iii) expanding/ compressing domains, to evaluate the generalized relationship between energy and entropy in a controlled setting. The results from this research will be applied to model nonthermal particle distributions arising from turbulent dissipation in several contexts, including laboratory experiments at the Wisconsin Plasma Physics Laboratory and space observation from NASA and other agency spacecraft missions.
Structure-preserving data reduction and processing for particle representations
Qi Tang (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Developing data reduction tools for large-scale particle datasets is essential to address the DOE Office of Science’s network, storage, and computing needs in the exascale era. Unlike generic black-box compression methods, our proposed approach emphasizes preserving the intrinsic structures of particle data, thereby retaining critical kinetic physics with minimal information loss. We consider both static and dynamic particle datasets. The first thrust introduces a novel particle- based distribution representation that naturally bridges conventional particle representations and their moments, accompanied by a unique low-pass filter specifically designed for moment data. The second thrust addresses dynamic datasets through nonlinear, structure-preserving reduction techniques applicable to both dissipative and non-dissipative particle dynamics. Additionally, we will advance asymptotic-preserving model discovery by embedding multiscale structures explicitly into machine learning architectures, focusing especially on multiscale systems and closures for scale bridging. Our methodology will be validated using simulation and experimental datasets from DOE applications. Scalable deployment and open-source release of the resulting software packages are also critical objectives of this project. The outcomes of this project will broadly impact DOE mission areas, including fusion energy, accelerator physics, and nuclear physics.
Precision Proton Tomography on a Euclidean Lattice
Yong Zhao (Argonne National Laboratory)
A fundamental goal of nuclear physics is to uncover the origin of the proton’s mass and spin, and to understand how the strong interaction governs the confined motion and spatial distribution of quarks and gluons within the nucleon. These questions can be profoundly informed by precise multi-dimensional imaging—tomography—of the proton, which lies at the heart of the scientific missions of the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and the forthcoming Electron-Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The objectives of this research are to develop a novel theoretical framework for precise first-principles calculations of the nucleon’s multi-dimensional quark and gluon structure using lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD), and to perform these calculations on high-performance supercomputers. Compared to existing methods, the new framework offers a key simplification that not only significantly improves numerical precision but also substantially reduces systematic uncertainties. By combining this framework with other recently developed precision-enhancing techniques in lattice QCD, this project will perform systematic calculations of multi-dimensional imaging observables that depend on the transverse momentum and spin of quarks and gluons. The results will enable the construction of precise three-dimensional images of the proton and reveal the contributions of quark and gluon spin, as well as orbital angular momentum, to the proton’s spin—thus providing essential theoretical guidance and support for current and future experiments.
Chemical Vapor Deposited superconductors on Cu-based cavities for compact superconducting radio frequency accelerators
Shreyas Balachandran (Florida State University)
Superconducting radio frequency (SRF) technology enables the efficient conversion of radio frequency energy into beam energy, allowing for the production of high-power electron beams (e- beams). Currently, SRF technology, which uses pure niobium (Nb) with a superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of about 9.2 K, has been successfully developed for particle accelerators in nuclear and high-energy physics research. However, Nb-based accelerators operate at very low temperatures and require complex, large liquid helium (He) cooling systems, posing a significant barrier to the broader adoption of this superconducting technology. Using higher Tc superconductors in SRF accelerators, along with more accessible highly conducting copper- based materials, can eliminate the need for continuous liquid He cooling, resulting in more compact accelerator systems. A smaller SRF-based accelerator will revolutionize existing e-beam irradiation technologies, including applications in the food industry, medical device sterilization, wastewater treatment, and others. This project will develop techniques to deposit high-quality, high-Tc compound Nb3X (X = Sn, Ge, Al) superconducting films on copper-based cavities while addressing fundamental material defect limitations. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD), a scalable technique, will be used to deposit a high- temperature superconducting film (Tc > 18 K) less than 2 microns thick on high-conductivity copper substrates. This work will build on current advances and improve our understanding of the trade- offs and fundamental limits of thin film depositions for SRF applications. The project will actively involve industry stakeholders in translating basic research results and techniques into complex accelerator shapes for larger-scale commercial deployment.
Discovery of new physics using electron scattering at JLab and EIC
Ciprian Gal (Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility)
Nuclear physics addresses fundamental questions about the universe, including how atomic nuclei can reveal physics beyond the Standard Model. This project advances research at two premier facilities: the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) and the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). At JLab, the MOLLER experiment will test electron interaction theory with unmatched precision. Secondly, the PREX puzzle, involving lead nuclei, will be investigated through measurements of transverse asymmetries in medium-Z nuclei. At the EIC, objectives involve enhancing capabilities and exploring new physics observables in collaboration with theoretical and experimental communities. Critical to achieving research goals at both facilities is the advancement of Compton polarimetry. This award supports the development of a new photon detector to enable a full three-dimensional understanding of high-energy electron beam polarization. The device will be the first in the world to offer this capability and will enhance the physics reach of JLab.