Benefits of Higher-Order Particle Shapes in the Electromagnetic PIC Code VORPAL

Noise is one of the largest hurdles that particle-in-cell (PIC) codes must overcome in order to resolve such phenomena as particle trapping in laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) and laser-solid interactions in fast ignition fusion scenarios. Using higher-order particle shapes has been shown to substantially reduce this noise. We present results of the implementation of higher-order particle shapes in the electromagnetic and electrostatic PIC code VORPAL, showing the benefits in application to LWFA and laser-solid interactions.