Simulation of intense beams for Heavy Ion Fusion

Abstract

Computer simulations of intense ion beams play a key role in the Heavy Ion Fusion research program. Along with analytic theory, they are used to develop future experiments, guide ongoing experiments, and aid in the analysis and interpretation of experimental results. They also afford access to regimes not yet accessible in the experimental program. The U.S. Heavy Ion Fusion Virtual National Laboratory and its collaborators have developed state-of-the art computational tools, related both to codes used for stationary plasmas and to codes used for traditional accelerator applications, but necessarily differing from each in important respects. These tools model beams in varying levels of detail and at widely varying computational cost. They include moment models (envelope equations and fluid descriptions), particle-in-cell methods (electrostatic and electromagnetic), nonlinear-perturbative descriptions (“ δ f ”), and continuum Vlasov methods. Increasingly, it is becoming clear that it is necessary to simulate not just the beams themselves, but also the environment in which they exist, be it an intentionally created plasma or an unwanted cloud of electrons and gas. In this paper, examples of the application of simulation tools to intense ion beam physics are presented, including support of present-day experiments, fundamental beam physics studies, and the development of future experiments. Throughout, new computational models are described and their utility explained. These include Mesh Refinement (and its dynamic variant, Adaptive Mesh Refinement); improved electron cloud and gas models, and an electron advance scheme that allows use of larger time steps; and moving-mesh and adaptive-mesh Vlasov methods.