Simulation methods for laser-plasma based x-ray sources*

Laser-plasma accelerators (LPAs) hold great promise for compact, bright x-ray sources due to the extraordinary field strengths available. The longitudinal fields in a relativistic plasma wave enable acceleration of high-quality electron bunches up to several hundred MeV in just a few mm of plasma. The strong transverse focusing fields enable betatron radiation in the x-ray regime. Design of these x-ray sources requires large-scale particle-in-cell simulations. We describe new algorithms that improve the accuracy and reliability of PIC simulations of LPA x-ray sources. These include a perfect dispersion algorithm, which allows use of lower resolution without loss of accuracy for greater efficiency; post-processing routines for evaluation of betatron radiation, and methods for reducing the statistical noise in the simulation of the self-injection process.