Laser Wakefield Acceleration and Fundamental Physics

Book excerpt: The laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) along with the now available laser technology allows us to look at TeV physics both in leptons and hadrons. Near future proof-of-principle experiments for a collider as well as high energy frontier experiments without a collider paradigm are suggested. The intense laser can also contribute to other fundamental physics explorations such as those of dark matter and dark energy candidates. Finally the combination of intense laser and laser-accelerated particles (electrons, hadrons, gammas) provides a further avenue of fundamental research.