3D particle simulations of space-charge-dominated beams in HIF accelerator experiments

Abstract

The development of a high current, heavy-ion beam driver for inertial confinement fusion requires a detailed understanding of the behavior of the beam, including effects of the large self-fields. This necessity makes particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation the appropriate tool, and for this reason, the three-dimensional PIC/accelerator code WARP3d is being developed. WARP3d has been used extensively to study the creation and propagation of ion beams both to support experiments and for the understanding of basic beam physics. An overview of the structure of the code is presented along with a discussion of features that make the code an effective tool in the understanding of space-charge dominated beam behavior. A number of applications where WARP3d has played an important role is discussed, emphasizing the need of three-dimensional, first principles simulations. Results and comparisons with experiment are presented.