Implementation of a Finite Difference Algorithm into QuickPIC*

The 3D parallel quasi-static PIC code, QuickPIC [1-3], has been widely used for making discoveries in plasma-based accelerator (PBA) research for many years. The current code is written based on the full spectral (FFT) algorithm framework of UPIC [4,5]. We report on a recent update to QuickPIC where an option for using a finite difference (FD) algorithm has been implemented. In this presentation, we will show the comparison between FD and the full spectral method for PBA simulations. The implementation of FD algorithm lays the foundation for many other improvements of QuickPIC planned in the future, including the parallelization of the 2D part of the code using a multi-dimensional partition, a multigrid Poisson solver, and mesh (static and adaptive) refinement.

[1] C. Huang et al., J. Comp. Phys. 217, 658 (2006).
[2] W. An et al., J. Comp. Phys. 250, 165 (2013).
[3] https://github.com/UCLA-Plasma-Simulation-Group/QuickPIC-OpenSource
[4] V. K. Decyk, Computer Phys. Comm. 177, 95 (2007).
[5] https://github.com/UCLA-Plasma-Simulation-Group/UPIC-2.0