ICAP-2002 Abstracts and Posters

ICAP 2002 Abstracts and Posters

Code Validation via Detailed Comparison with Experiment: PIC Simulations of Short, Intense Laser Pulses Ionizing He Gas

Abstract

Laser-driven (LWFA) and beam-driven (PWFA) plasma accelerators can sustain electron plasma waves with longitudinal electric fields on the order of the nonrelativistic wave breaking field, which is routinely of order 100 GV/m in table-top LWFA experiments. The laser pulse can create its own plasma from a gas jet via field-induced tunneling ionization of the neutral atoms, which leads to blue-shifting at the leading edge of the pulse, as well as steepening due to pump depletion and other effects. Tunneling ionization is also a critical issue for some proposed PWFA experiments, with gradients exceeding 5 GV/m. We will present simulation results from the parallel PIC code OOPIC [D.L. Bruhwiler et al., Phys. Rev. S.T. A&B, Issue 10 (2001); www.techxhome.com/products/oopic/], including detailed comparison with experiments from the l'OASIS lab at LBNL [W.P. Leemans et al., Phys. Plasmas 8, 2510 (2001)]. The simulation results agree quantitatively with experimental data, which lends confidence in the OOPIC algorithms.

D.L. Bruhwiler, D.A. Dimitrov, W. Leemans, E. Esarey, P. Catravas, C. Toth, B. Shadwick, J.R. Cary and R. Giacone

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