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Muon injection and acceleration via ultraintense electron beam-driven plasma wakefield

J. X. Wang1,*, L. Q. Han2,*, X. Y. Zhao1, Abdughupur Ablimit1, Z. Gong3,†, H. Wen1,‡, and J. Q. Yu1,§

  • 1Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of High-Energy Scale Physics and Applications, School of Physics and Electronics, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China
  • 2State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology and Key Laboratory of HEDP of the Ministry of Education, CAPT, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
  • 3Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: zgong92@itp.ac.cn
  • ‡Contact author: hwen@hnu.edu.cn
  • §Contact author: jinqing.yu@hnu.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 29, 021302 – Published 18 February, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/wq5g-mtjq

Abstract

High-flux, high-energy muon beams hold transformative potential for particle physics, yet rapid acceleration to relativistic energies in plasma wakefields is limited by dephasing arising from their larger mass and lower velocity. Here, we propose a method for longitudinal injection and stable acceleration of low-energy muons using a plasma density up-ramp to separate the deceleration and acceleration regions. The nonlinear wakefield configuration required for muon injection was obtained analytically using Hamiltonian dynamics, and particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations showed that the initial energy and emittance conditions of injectable muons can be tuned. Driven by an ultraintense 23 GeV electron beam, muons with an initial energy of 300 MeV attain a final energy of 40 GeV, with an 18.85% energy spread and a normalized emittance of 8.86 mm mrad. These findings provide a feasible pathway toward the development of compact muon colliders, with potential to advance particle physics and enable the exploration of phenomena beyond the Standard Model.

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Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 29, 021302– Published 18 February, 2026
  • Received 24 September 2025
  • Accepted 14 January 2026
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