Modeling and simulation of beam-induced plasma in muon cooling devices

Understanding of the interaction of muon beams with plasma in muon cooling devices is important for the optimization of the muon cooling process. We have developed numerical algorithms and parallel software for self-consistent simulation of the plasma production and its interaction with particle beams and external fields. Simulations support the experimental program on the hydrogen gas filled RF cavities in the Mucool Test Area (MTA) at Fermilab. Computational algorithms are based on the electromagnetic particle-in-cell (PIC) code SPACE combined with a probabilistic, macroparticle-based implementation of atomic physics processes such as the absorption of the incident particles, ionization of the absorber material, and the generation and evolution of secondary particles in dense, neutral gas. In particular, we have proposed a novel algorithm for dealing with repetitive incident beam, enabling simulations of long time scale processes. Benchmarks and simulations of the experiments on gas-filled RF cavities and prediction for future experiments are discussed.