Cosmic Accelerators: Unraveling Nature's Most Extreme Engines

From black hole jets to shock waves from exploding stars, the universe hosts natural particle accelerators that reach energies far beyond anything built on Earth, glowing across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Yet how these cosmic engines actually work remains a long-standing mystery.

In the XPACE project, we combine advanced numerical simulations with novel laboratory experiments—using the world's most powerful lasers—to recreate extreme astrophysical conditions. These efforts are offering new insights into how plasmas become remarkably efficient particle accelerators, helping to unravel the physics behind some of the universe's most energetic and fascinating phenomena.