Load management strategy for Particle-In-Cell simulations in high energy particle acceleration

TL;DR

This paper addresses the computational challenges in Particle-In-Cell simulations for high energy particle acceleration, proposing a load management strategy to improve efficiency and accuracy.

Contribution

It introduces an innovative load management algorithm to mitigate computational load imbalance in PIC codes for LWFA simulations.

Findings

Demonstrates improved computational performance with the new algorithm

Identifies limitations of current PIC codes in physical accuracy and efficiency

Provides milestones for developing advanced high-performance PIC codes

Abstract

In the wake of the intense effort made for the experimental CILEX project, numerical simulation cam- paigns have been carried out in order to finalize the design of the facility and to identify optimal laser and plasma parameters. These simulations bring, of course, important insight into the fundamental physics at play. As a by-product, they also characterize the quality of our theoretical and numerical models. In this paper, we compare the results given by different codes and point out algorithmic lim- itations both in terms of physical accuracy and computational performances. These limitations are illu- strated in the context of electron laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). The main limitation we identify in state-of-the-art Particle-In-Cell (PIC) codes is computational load imbalance. We propose an innovative algorithm to deal with this specific issue as well as milestones towards a modern, accurate high-per- formance PIC code for high energy particle acceleration.