Muon beams can now be created in a device that is the length of a ruler.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab presented a foot-long (30 cm) compact laser-plasma accelerator (LPA) that can generate and detect highly directional muon beams. It works by using intense laser pulses to accelerate electron beams, which then create muons in significantly higher numbers and with greater directionality, providing a powerful new alternative for non-destructive imaging of large or concealed objects.
Conventional artificial muon sources are bulky and expensive, which has left many imaging applications reliant on naturally occurring, scarce, and unreliable cosmic rays. The new LPA overcomes these constraints by producing significantly higher muon yields, slashing exposure times from months to minutes, according to the study published in Physical Review Accelerators and Beams.