Numerical modeling of axisymmetric electron beam devices using a coupled particle-finite element method

A coupled particle finite-element method is developed for the numerical resolution of the time-dependent relativistic Vlasov-Maxwell equations in axisymmetric geometries. The use of a conforming finite-element method for the Maxwell solver supplemented with a mass-lumping technique leads to an explicit system for the computation of the electromagnetic fields components. For the Vlasov solver, a fully vectorized algorithm is used for the location of the particles in an unstructured mesh made up with triangles. The numerical values of the electromagnetic fields radiated by a dipole are compared with the analytical solution. The whole Vlasov-Maxwell solver is tested on a simplified free-electron laser electron injector, designed for an RF-based free electron laser and the results are compared with those obtained with a finite-difference code.