Novel Particle- In-Cell Simulation Methods in Hevy-Ion Fusion Science and Related Fields

The Heavy Ion Fusion Science Virtual National Laboratory (HIFSVNL) is
involved in the development of accelerators that can deliver beams suitable for high
energy density experiments and implosion of inertial fusion capsules. For such
studies, the HIFSVNL has developed original numerical methods for Particle-In-Cell
(PIC) simulations including PIC with adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) [1] having a
large-timestep mover for particles of arbitrary magnetized species [2]. These novel
methods were implemented into the HIFSVNL flagship PIC code Warp. Following
the introduction of new methods for simulation in boosted frames [3] and a new
relativistic leapfrog particle pusher [4], Warp has recently been applied by
researchers from the HIFSVNL to the high energy physics domain for the study of
electron clouds, free electron lasers and laser wakefield accelerators. We will review
these developments and discuss results from our investigations. This is joint work
was performed jointly with R.H. Cohen [2], A. Friedman [2], D.P. Grote [2], W.M.
Fawley [1], M.A. Furman [1], and C.R. Geddes [1].
[1] J.-L. Vay et al., Phys. Plasmas 11, 5 (2004)
[2] R.H. Cohen et al., Nucl. Inst. and Meth A 577, 52-57 (2007)
[3] J.-L. Vay, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 130405 (2007)
[4] J.-L. Vay, Phys. Plasmas 15, 056701 (2008)
Dr. Jean-Luc Vay is a physicist in the Accelerator and Fusion Research
Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. at the
University of Paris, France. His research interests include the development of
advanced numerical techniques and their application to heavy ion inertial fusion and
particle accelerator studies.