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Frontier Science

Cutting-edge research at the boundaries of current scientific knowledge.

The NSF OPAL RI-1 award supports the design of a new, world-leading, high-power laser user facility at the University of Rochester with two new lasers that will push beyond the current state of the art in peak laser power to achieve and study extreme physical conditions, such as ultrahigh electromagnetic fields, temperatures, and pressures that represent the frontier of science in studying matter in the Universe. The design of NSF OPAL will be guided by the most pressing scientific questions that can be answered using such a laser system in four areas of frontier research identified by the Multi-Petawatt Physics Prioritization (MP3) workshop:

  • Particle Acceleration and Advanced Light Sources (PAALS)
  • High-Field Physics and Quantum Electrodynamics (HFP/QED)
  • Laboratory Astrophysics and Planetary Physics (LAPP)
  • Laser-Driven Nuclear Physics (LDNP).

NSF OPAL frontier science working groups (FSWGs) in each of these areas involve a large group of scientists who have contributed significantly to advancing their respective fields and proposing flagship experiments for NSF OPAL.