How are particle accelerators built, how do they work, and how could new plasma technologies transform their future?
These are some of the questions that took centre stage at Trieste Next, the annual Festival of Scientific Research, where researchers introduced audiences to the fascinating world of accelerator physics and emerging plasma accelerator technologies.
Trieste Next – Festival of Scientific Research is an annual science and public engagement event held in Trieste. Established in 2012, the festival brings researchers, academics and the wider public together to explore developments across a broad range of scientific and technological fields.
Yesterday participants at Trieste Next joined a deep dive into fundamental physics, exploring the science and technology behind particle accelerators… some of the most powerful tools available for investigating matter at the smallest scales and under extreme conditions. The session provided an accessible introduction to how accelerators are developed and operated, while also looking ahead to the technologies that could shape the next generation of research facilities.
Towards more compact accelerators
A key focus of the discussion was the development of plasma-based accelerator technologies. Conventional particle accelerators can require large and complex infrastructures, driven by the need to sustain high accelerating fields over long distances. Plasma acceleration offers a different approach. By exploiting extremely strong electric fields generated in plasmas, these technologies have the potential to achieve high acceleration gradients over much shorter distances. This could open pathways towards more compact and accessible accelerator facilities for future research and applications.
European initiatives such as our PACRI and EuPRAXIA are contributing to this emerging field. While EuPRAXIA is working towards the development of a European research infrastructure based on plasma accelerator technology, PACRI is addressing the development and integration of key components needed to support future plasma-based research infrastructures. Together, these efforts form part of a broader European effort to move plasma acceleration from experimental demonstrations towards reliable technologies and future research facilities.
Bringing accelerator science closer to the public
The Trieste Next event also highlighted the importance of communicating fundamental science and emerging technologies beyond the research community. By explaining how accelerators work and why researchers are developing new approaches, the event offered the audience an opportunity to connect fundamental physics with the technologies that could enable future scientific discoveries. The session was moderated by Gerardo D’Auria (PACRI Project Coordinator at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste) and featured presentations by:
- Mariastefania De Vido (CALTA – UKRI)
- Alessio del Dotto (INFN Frascati National Laboratories)
- Martina del Giorno (INFN Frascati National Laboratories)
PACRI community thank all the speakers, organisers and members of the audience who joined the discussion and contributed to making accelerator science part of the Trieste Next programme.
Like previous years, this year too, through talks, conferences, workshops, demonstrations and discussions, Trieste Next created opportunities for researchers to engage with the public and explore the wider cultural and societal dimensions of scientific research.
