PIC Simulations of particle energization during magnetic reconnection of laser produced plasma bubbles

We perform and analyze particle-in-cell simulations of colliding laser-produced plasma bubbles. These end-to-end simulations model generation and heating of the bubbles, which by means of the Biermann battery effect self-consistently generate magnetic fields. The anti-parallel fields then collide and reconnect. Previous 2-D simulations in the reconnection plane demonstrate the formation of an energized electron population during reconnection [W. Fox, PoP 24, 092901 (2017)]. Here we expand the calculations to the full 3-D evolution of colliding plasmas to determine the conditions required in this more complete system to accelerate particles. We also investigate the effect of a pre-heated electron population on particle energization. Simulations are performed using the GPU-enabled PSC particle-in-cell code on ORNL's Summit supercomputer.