Multi-scale simulation of intense laser plasma interactions

Lead Research Organisation: University of Oxford
Department Name: Oxford Physics

Abstract

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Publications

10 25 50
 
Description We have shown that quantum electrodynamics (QED) will play a significant role in laser-plasma experiments as laser intensities increase over the next ten years. Some effects, such as gamma-ray and pair production, are possible with carefully designed experiments with existing lasers. We added QED processes to the widely used EPOCH particle-in-cell simulation that is managed from the University of Warwick.
Exploitation Route The QED module in EPOCH is very widely used. Laser-plasma experiments producing high energy gamma-rays and electron-positron pairs are in progress at many laboratories. Lasers under construction, such as the laser of the ELI (Extreme Light Infrastructure), are expected to enter the QED-plasma regime.
Sectors Education,Energy,Healthcare,Security and Diplomacy

 
Description QED-plasmas Heidelberg 
Organisation Max Planck Society
Department Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
Country Germany 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution This grant was part of a EPSRC-funded collaboration between Imperial College and the Universities of Oxford and Warwick centered on the development of the publicly available EPOCH simulation code. Dr JG Kirk of the Max-Planck-Institute for Nuclear Physics at Heidelberg was also part of the collaboration from the outset. Dr Kirk contributed a knowledge of the application of QED in a plasma context. The EPOCH code is housed at Warwick. Oxford developed the algorithms for insertion into EPOCH.
Start Year 2008
 
Description QED-plasmas Warwick 
Organisation University of Warwick
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution This grant was part of an EPSRC-funded collaboration between Imperial College and the Universities of Oxford and Warwick centered on the development of the publicly available EPOCH simulation code. Dr JG Kirk of the Max-Planck-Institute for Nuclear Physics at Heidelberg was also part of the collaboration from the outset. Dr Kirk contributed a knowledge of the application of QED in a plasma context. The EPOCH code is housed at Warwick. Oxford developed the algorithms for insertion into EPOCH. All papers associated with the QED part of the project have co-authors from Oxford, Warwick and MPIK Heidelberg. Imperial College was involved in other parts of the EPOCH project.
Start Year 2009
 
Title EPOCH released with QED 
Description Release of the EPOCH particle-in-cell code including QED processes as a publicly available software package. EPOCH has been developed primarily at the University of Warwick as a multi-purpose plasma simulation code. QED algorithms and code to model gamma-ray and electron-positron pair production were developed at Oxford. Warwick implemented the QED package in the publicly released version of EPOCH. The fully documented code is available at http://ccpforge.cse.rl.ac.uk/gf/project/epoch/. EPOCH has been downloaded nearly 400 times to date (April 2013). It is being used by experimentalists and theorists from many countries. A paper (Ridgers et al 2013) is being submitted to the Journal of Computational Physics describing the QED physics and algorithms. An earlier paper by Duclous et al (2010) described the QED model at an earlier stage of development. 
Type Of Technology Software 
Year Produced 2009 
URL http://ccpforge.cse.rl.ac.uk/gf/project/epoch/
 
Description ERC starting grant panel 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Primary Audience Participants in your research or patient groups
Results and Impact Member of the European Research Council panel awarding starting grants Member of the panel awarding European Research Council Starting Grants to young scientists.. Awarding Body - European Research Council, Name of Scheme - Panel awarding Starting Grants
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2012
 
Description FAP CLF 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Primary Audience Participants in your research or patient groups
Results and Impact Member of Facility Access Panel for Central Laser Facility at RAL Member of Facility Access Panel allocating time on the high power lasers at the Central Laser Facility. Awarding Body - STFC, Name of Scheme - Facility Access Panel
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2012
 
Description Garching 2010 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Participants in your research or patient groups
Results and Impact Invited talk on QED-plasmas at the Workshop on Frontiers in Intense Laser-Matter Interaction Theory, Garching, Germany 2010. Awarding Body - Organisers of the Workshop on Frontiers in Intense Laser-Matter Interaction Theory,, Name of Scheme - Workshop on Frontiers in Intense Laser-Matter Interaction Theory, Garching, Germany
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2010
 
Description Kanasawa 2011 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Participants in your research or patient groups
Results and Impact Invited talk on QED-plasmas at the Workshop on High Energy Density Sciences at Kanazawa, Japan 2011 Invited talk on QED-plasmas at the Workshop on High Energy Density Sciences in Kanasawa, Japan 2011. Awarding Body - Organisers of the Workshop on High Energy Density Sciences, Kanasawa, Japan, Name of Scheme - Workshop on High Energy Density Sciences
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2011
 
Description Ridgers APS 2012 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Participants in your research or patient groups
Results and Impact Invited talk by the project PDRA at the annual Plasma Physics Conference of the APS Division of Plasma Physics, Rhode Island USA, 2012. Awarding Body - American Physical Society, Name of Scheme - Annual Plasma Physics Conference of the APS Division of Plasma Physics 2012
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2012
 
Description Ridgers Prague 2012 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Participants in your research or patient groups
Results and Impact Invited talk by the project PDRA at the 25th Symposium on Plasma Physics & Technology, Prague, Czech Republic, 2012.. Awarding Body - Organisers of the 25th Symposium on Plasma Physics & Technology, Name of Scheme - 25th Symposium on Plasma Physics & Technology, Prague
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2012