VORPAL: a versatile plasma simulation code

VORPAL is a new plasma simulation code designed for maximum flexibility through use of advance C++ techniques. Through use of inheritance, VORPAL incorporates multiple models for the plasma and electromagnetic fields. The plasma models include both particle-in-cell and fluid models. Through C++ meta-template programming a single code can be used to simulate one-, two-, or three-dimensional systems with no loss of performance. VORPAL can also be run in either serial or parallel, with the latter using a general domain decomposition. A new fluid algorithm that allows for regions of zero density was developed and incorporated into the code. VORPAL simulation results for the generation of laser wake fields through laser-plasma interaction are presented. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.