A prototype parallelization of a PIC code

Summary form only given. Starting with a simple 3D PIC (particle-in-cell) code named PICEM3, it has been reengineered into a prototype code where the computational physics issues were purposefully separated from the parallel computing issues. The resulting PIC code, named PICARD (particle in cell with arbitrary rebalancing and decompositions), serves as a baseline for testing parallel computing ideas appropriate for particle simulation of plasma behavior. The authors have implemented several well-known domain decomposition and load balancing techniques as well as techniques of their own design.