ALCF Science 1 - Argonne National Laboratory

INCITE PROGRAM
Energy Technologies
Exploring Particle-in-Cell/Hybrid Simulations of Fast Ignition
Fusion energy is one possible long-term energy solution that is both
safe and environmentally friendly. Fast ignition is an alternative to
conventional inertial confinement fusion currently pursued at the
National Ignition Facility. This scheme separates the compression
and heating phases from ignition, much like a petrol combustion
engine. In the petrol engine, the fuel is compressed by the piston,
and then ignited via the spark plug. In fast ignition, the driving lasers
are the pistons, compressing the fuel to high density; then a second
laser’s high-intensity pulse serves as the “spark.” Researchers from
the University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA) have implemented a
newly invented particle-in-cell (PIC)/magnetohydrodynamics (MHD)
hybrid method that is 300 to 30,000 times faster than full PIC. The
group is running three hybrid simulations of fast ignition targets, plus
some full PIC/transport runs on Intrepid, the powerful Blue Gene/P
supercomputer at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF).
INCITE Allocation:
7 Million Hours
Researchers from the University
of California–Los Angeles (UCLA)
have implemented a newly
invented particle-in-cell (PIC)/
magnetohydrodynamics (MHD)
hybrid method that is 300 to
30,000 times faster than full PIC.
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Longitudinal electron currents of a fast ignition target irradiated by an ultrahigh intensity
laser. As the laser hits the target front from the left-hand side, it generates a strong
inward flow of electrons (blue) that is quickly compensated by a strong return current
that builds up inside the target (yellow/red), leading to filamentation. Image generated
from a simulation of the PIC code OSIRIS; Luís Silva, IST, Portugal; Warren Mori, UCLA.
Contact John Tonge
University of California—Los Angeles | tonge@physics.ucla.edu