JAI, Oxford, United Kingdom
Advances in many scientific and technical fields depend on availability of instruments, which can probe the structure of materials or molecules on unprecedented levels of spatial or temporal resolution. Many of such instruments are based on accelerators of charged particles, with particular examples of synchrotron radiation light sources and coherent X-ray Free Electron Lasers. The high cost of such facilities, however, preclude wide spread of such instruments. Modern accelerator science witnesses emergence of a new direction – compact x-ray sources are coming to the scene, enabled by the synergy of accelerators and lasers, where high gradient laser-plasma acceleration can significantly reduce the size and cost of the facilities. Compact x-ray sources will be developed in the nearest future and will share their scientific and market niche with large national scale x-ray facilities. The compact sources will in particular be suitable for placement in universities and medical or technological centres. The compact x-ray light sources are being developed by many centres in UK. Development of compact x-ray FEL is a promising topic for scientific and technological collaboration between UK and Russia, where expertise of partners will cross-fertilize their ability to solve scientific and technological challenges.
