Studying a new LWFA scheme that produces electron bunches of several hundred picocoulombs using PIConGPU

We present recent simulation studies of laser wake eld acceleration that match experiments performed at HZDR which produce quasi mono-energetic electron bunches of several hundred picocoulombs charge. The talk focuses on the dynamics of this new acceleration scheme and required code improvements to study it using the 3D3V particle-in-cell code PIConGPU. We discuss in detail the influence of various ionization mechanisms and laser implementations on the plasma dynamics. Furthermore, we present computation constrains and implementation challenges that these new methods entail. On top of discussing the acceleration scheme, we predict experimental observables using PIConGPU’s in-situ synthetic radiation diagnostics. It allows predicting spectra from infrared to x-rays and provides the capability to determine the temporal and spatial origin of the radiation. These radiation simulations give valuable spectral signatures that allow conclusions on the micrometer femtosecond electron dynamics occurring in experiments. As an example of such a signature, simu- lated betatron spectra will be compared to experimentally measured spectra in order to determine the spatial extent of the electron bunch.