DOE funding for cryogenics has shown a new path towards high-energy protons

New experiments on the Draco laser (Germany) and the Texas Petawatt have successfully completed indicating high-energy laser produced protons. These experiments are motivated by large-scale 3D particle in cell simulations. The simulations indicate that the interaction of an intense short-pulse laser beam with a cryogenic hydrogen target is capable of producing a proton beam with energies up to 60 MeV.