Pulsed High-Field Magnets for a laser-driven Ion Beam shaping and Laboratory Astrophysics

Pulsed high-field magnets have become a common, versatile research tool. We present a pulsed magnet technology platform that opens up new areas of application in the field of laser-driven plasma physics. Compact high-field magnets, generating ms-long magnetic field pulses with amplitudes ranging as high as 20 T, have been developed for operation under high vacuum and in close vicinity to the harsh laser-plasma environment. The combination of the presented magnet technology and portable pulsed power systems paves the way for novel experiments in laboratory astrophysics and enables unique studies on beam optics for laser-driven ion sources.
We implemented a tunable pulsed beamline at the Dresden laser acceleration source (Draco) for radiobiological irradiation studies. It consists of two pulsed solenoids for shaping laser-accelerated ion beams spatially and spectrally for application. We performed experiments with the PW beam of Draco to investigate the feasibility of worldwide first controlled volumetric in vivo tumour irradiations in a dedicated mouse model with laser-accelerated protons. The study shows the reliable generation of homogeneous dose distributions laterally and in depth. Practical issues, like magnet repetition rate and stability, mean dose rate and future radiobiological challenges will be discussed and an outlook on the already performed volumetric tumour irradiation experiments will be given.
Furthermore, a split-pair coil was developed that can be used for the investigation of magnetized plasma in the frame laboratory astrophysical phenomena. The magnet provides optical access to the magnetized laser-driven plasma via two bores perpendicular to the coil axis. These openings enable optical and X-ray probing as well as insertion of obstacles and/or laser targets from solids to gas jets.