INF&RNO Modeling of 10 GeV-Class Electron Beams from a Laser-Plasma Accelerator Driven by the BELLA Laser

Abstract

Particle-in-cell modeling of 10 GeV-Class laser-plasma accelerators, where a short and intense laser pulse with an energy of tens of Joules propagates in a plasma with a length of a few tens of cm and a density ~ 1017 cm−3, is a computationally challenging task, requiring several tens of millions of core hours on today's supercomputers. In this paper, we present simulations results, obtained with the computationally-efficient code INF&RNO [8]–[10], concerning the production of 10 GeV-class electron beams in a 20 cm plasma under realistic conditions using the PW BELLA laser at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The computational savings provided by INF&RNO allows for extensive parameter scans and detailed characterization of the accelerator performance.