Hanging ten to the tenth on a plasma wave: The grand challenge of extending the energy frontier

Summary form only given. Particle accelerators are among the largest and most successful machines ever built by humans. They have been responsible for more discoveries about the fundamental nature of matter and energy than any other tool. However, they have clearly hit limits of size and cost, and the continued exploration of the high energy physics frontier as well as the realization of promising applications in medicine and industry require a new technology. Plasma-based accelerators have emerged as the leading candidate. Acceleration of particles in plasma waves driven by lasers and particle beams have made remarkable advances in the past five years, including the doubling of the energy of the 3km long Stanford Linear Accelerator in a one-meter long plasma and the generation of GeV monoenergetic beams in a centimeter long gas/plasma. This talk reviews the recent history and basic principles of plasma-based acceleration and highlights simulation advances and upcoming experiments that will take the field the next step toward the energy frontier. The talk will also examine the role of accelerators and plasmas in addressing several of the NAEs Grand Challenges for the 21st Century.