Simulation of Weibel Instability for LWFA and PWFA Electron Beams

Weibel instability is of central importance for relativistic beams both in laboratory, ex. fast-igniter concept for inertial confinement fusion, and astrophysical, ex. cosmic jets, plasmas. Simulations, using QuickPIC, of an intense and monoenergetic beam propagating through a plasma were conducted for experimental setups with Laser Wakefield and RF accelerators and show the appearance of Weibel instability (or current instability). The appearance of the instability is investigated as a function of beam parameters (density, spot size and bunch length) and plasma parameters (plasma density and length of plasma). We present preliminary simulation results that show that the instability should be observable for the RF accelerator experiment.