Accelerator Modeling Program

Computers have revolutionized not only our day-to-day lives, but also the ways in which things of all kinds are designed. Through simulation and modeling, designers can maximize performance, look for hidden trouble spots, and explore new ideas. For particle accelerators — among the largest and most complex instruments of science — these tools have become indispensable.

In ATAP’s Accelerator Modeling Program, we use advanced computing techniques to achieve fast and accurate simulations of accelerators and beams. Our approach is based on deep collaboration among physicists, applied mathematicians, and computer scientists — a synergy of LBNL strengths. The results benefit a wide variety of fields extending across much of the DOE Office of Science research portfolio and beyond. More…

Berkeley Lab Accelerator Simulation Toolkit (BLAST)

The codes written and maintained by us and our LBNL collaborators are used around the world to improve accelerator design and to increase understanding of beam physics. Our strategy is aligned closely with DOE reports, roadmaps, and priorities. Our ultimate goal is to develop computational tools that let us virtually prototype, design, and optimize entire accelerators self-consistently, and that are fast enough for real-time feedback and accelerator auto-tuning. More…

Consortium for Advanced Modeling of Particle Accelerators (CAMPA)

We are coordinating an emergent collaborative effort called CAMPA, the Consortium for Advanced Modeling of Particle Accelerators. Bringing together efforts by ourselves, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Fermilab, and the University of California-Los Angeles, the consortium supports DOE’s mission by developing and applying advanced computational tools for accelerator and beam physics and related areas of electromagnetic simulation. More…

Preparing for the Exascale Revolution

The upcoming generation of supercomputers will reach the “exascale” of performance, a billion billion mathematical operations a second. This computing power is expected to revolutionize many areas of science, including accelerator simulation. AMP’s roles include modifying and extending the BLAST code Warp-X and combining it with state-of-the-art visualization tools to take best advantage of exascale computing, with emphasis on laser-plasma accelerators such as BELLA. The result will be better understanding of complex, interrelated physics phenomena, and, ultimately, all the societal benefits of smaller and better particle accelerators. More…

Projects and Accomplishments: Service Throughout the Accelerator Community

Codes now brought together under AMP have helped improve many of the most challenging accelerators of recent decades in high-energy physics, nuclear physics, basic energy sciences, and fusion science, as well as spinoff applications ranging from homeland security to waste transmutation, in the US and internationally. The Large Hadron Collider, Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider, Tevatron, KEKB, and J-PARC; free-electron lasers LCLS and LCLS-II; and the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider and Facility for Rare Isotope Beams; and laser accelerators BELLA and FACET are just a few highlights. More…