Microscopic Particle Accelerator Surpasses Large Hadron Collider

In a recent study published on October 18 in the journal Nature, scientists from the Friedrich–Alexander University of Erlangen–Nuremberg (FAU) in Germany employed the small device to boost electrons from an energy level of 28.4 kiloelectron volts to 40.7 keV, marking an increase of approximately 43%.

This marks the inaugural successful activation of a nanophotonic electron accelerator, as initially proposed in 2015, according to the researchers. Although scientists at Stanford University have also accomplished this with their miniature accelerator, their findings are currently undergoing review.

Co-author Roy Shiloh, a physicist at FAU, stated, “For the first time, we really can speak about a particle accelerator on a [micro]chip.”

While the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) utilizes over 9,000 magnets to generate a powerful magnetic field propelling particles to approximately 99.9% of the speed of light, the nanophotonic electron accelerator (NEA) also forms a magnetic field.

However, it achieves this by directing light beams at the pillars within the vacuum tube, resulting in a much weaker energy field. Electrons accelerated by the NEA possess only about a millionth of the energy of particles accelerated by the LHC.

Nonetheless, researchers anticipate enhancing the NEA’s design through alternative materials or stacking multiple tubes, potentially boosting particle acceleration. Despite these improvements, they acknowledge that the NEA will never achieve energy levels comparable to those attained by large colliders.

This might actually be a positive development, considering the primary purpose of developing these accelerators is to harness the energy emitted by accelerated electrons for precise medical treatments. These treatments aim to replace more harmful forms of radiotherapy, commonly employed to eliminate cancer cells.

“The ideal application would involve placing a particle accelerator on an endoscope to deliver radiotherapy directly to the affected area within the body,” explained study lead author Tomáš Chlouba, a physicist at FAU. However, he emphasized that achieving this goal is still a considerable distance away.