Lorentz Boosted Frame Simulation of Laserwakefield Acceleration Using Hybrid Yee-fft Solver in Quasi-3d Geometry

We present results from a preliminary study on modeling Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) with OSIRIS in a Lorentz boosted frame using a quasi-3D algorithm. In the quasi-3D algorithm, the fields and currents are expanded into azimuthal harmonics and only a limited number of harmonics are kept. Field equations in (r, z) space are solved for a desired number of harmonics in φ. To suppress the numerical Cerenkov instability (NCI) that inevitably arises due to the relativistic plasma drift in the simulation, we use a hybrid Yee-FFT solver in which the field equations are solved in (kz ,r) space, where ẑ is the drifting direction. Preliminary results show that high fidelity LWFA boosted frame simulations can be carried out with no evidence of the NCI. Good agreement is found when comparing LWFA boosted frame simulations in the full 3D geometry against those in the quasi-3D geometry. In addition, we discuss how the moving window can be combined with the hybrid Yee-FFT solver to further speed up the simulation. The results indicate that unprecedented speed ups for LWFA simulations can be achieved when combining the Lorentz boosted frame technique, the quasi-3D algorithm, and a moving window.