by Keith Burnett, Dino Jaroszynski and Simon Hooker (eds), The Royal Society. Paperback ISSN 1364503X, £100 ($170).
The strong electromagnetic fields that are generated when intense laser pulses interact with plasma could produce a new generation of extremely compact particle accelerators. Laser-driven plasma accelerators are potentially versatile sources of energetic particle beams and coherent radiation that ranges from terahertz frequencies to X-rays. This issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A contains papers by leading experts, beginning with basic concepts in plasma accelerators and the status and evolution of plasma-wakefield particle accelerators. It includes inverse free-electron lasers, high-intensity laser-driven proton acceleration and femtosecond electron diffraction.
