LhARA; the Laser-hybrid Accelerator for Radiobiological Applications

11. Long; abstract submitted to 1st International Biophysics Collaboration meeting GSI 20-22 May 2019

The ‘Laser-hybrid Accelerator for Radiobiological Applications’, LhARA, is conceived as a novel facility dedicated to the study of radiobiology. LhARA is a hybrid accelerator system in which laser interactions drive the creation of a large flux of protons or light ions that are captured using a plasma (Gabor) lens and formed into a beam. The conceptual design of LhARA permits the facility to be built in two stages. In the first stage, a programme of in-vitro experiments will be served with proton beams with energies between 10 MeV and 15 MeV. The beam will be transported and focused using a series of Gabor lenses and dipoles. In stage two, the beam will be accelerated using a fixed-field accelerator with large dynamic aperture. This will allow experiments to be carried out in vitro and in vivo with proton beam energies of ~70 MeV. In addition, ion beams will be provided for in-vitro an in-vivo experiments. The conceptual design of LhARA will be summarised.