User research at BNL’s Accelerator Test Facility

The Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) at BNL is the DOE Office of Science User Facility for Accelerator Stewardship, featuring a high-brightness, 80-MeV electron LINAC, near-infrared (NIR) lasers at 1.06 and 0.8 µm, and a 5-TW, 2-ps long-wave infrared (LWIR) 9.2-µm laser. ATF is advancing LWIR laser technology toward the multi-terawatt, femtosecond regime—a major milestone in this spectral domain. Its unique suite of synchronized or independently operated capabilities enables breakthroughs across a broad range of studies, from materials science to Homeland Security, and from advanced radiation sources to novel methods of particle acceleration. Research priorities are shaped by community input through ATF User Meetings and Science Planning Workshops. A key focus is leveraging the co-location of the LINAC and “multi-color” lasers to place ATF at the forefront of THz to hard x-ray radiation sources, plasma physics, and advanced accelerator R&D. In this approach, the LWIR laser drives plasma dynamics, while the LINAC and NIR lasers enable ultrafast probing of plasma fields and density, or controlled electron injection into plasma wakes. These efforts support global research into plasma instabilities relevant to astrophysics and inertial confinement fusion, as well as the development of future colliders and compact accelerators with potential industrial applications. Recent ATF user results highlight these advances.