Extended PIC schemes for physics in ultra-strong laser fields: review and developments

TL;DR

This review discusses advanced particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation techniques for modeling ultra-strong laser field physics, introducing new algorithms for particle emission and cascades, and unifying interfaces across different PIC codes.

Contribution

The paper introduces a modified event generator for accurate particle emission modeling and an adaptive scheme for cascade simulation, along with a unified interface for PIC codes.

Findings

Proposed a cutoff-free, precise particle emission model.

Developed an adaptive scheme for efficient cascade simulation.

Reviewed PIC codes supporting the new interface.

Abstract

We review common extensions of particle-in-cell (PIC) schemes which account for strong field phenomena in laser-plasma interactions. After describing the physical processes of interest and their numerical implementation, we provide solutions for several associated methodological and algorithmic problems. We propose a modified event generator that precisely models the entire spectrum of incoherent particle emission without any low-energy cutoff, and which imposes close to the weakest possible demands on the numerical time step. Based on this, we also develop an adaptive event generator that subdivides the time step for locally resolving QED events, allowing for efficient simulation of cascades. Further, we present a new and unified technical interface for including the processes of interest in different PIC implementations. Two PIC codes which support this interface, PICADOR and ELMIS, are also briefly reviewed.