High-order Particle-In-Cell simulations of laser-plasma interaction

The simulation of laser-plasma interaction via three- dimensional Particle-In-Cell methods based on higher-order schemes is considered. High-order methods allow for drastically reducing the required number of degrees of freedom while still capturing the complex physical nature of non-linear processes. The suitability of high-order methods for the acceleration of protons from thin films by intense short-pulse lasers in terms of accuracy and efficiency is shown.