TWANG-PIC, a novel gyro-averaged one-dimensional particle-in-cell code for interpretation of gyrotron experiments

A new gyrotron simulation code for simulating the beam-wave interaction using a monomode time-dependent self-consistent model is presented. The new code TWANG-PIC is derived from the trajectory-based code TWANG by describing the electron motion in a gyro-averaged one-dimensional Particle-In-Cell (PIC) approach. In comparison to common PIC-codes, it is distinguished by its computation speed, which makes its use in parameter scans and in experiment interpretation possible. A benchmark of the new code is presented as well as a comparative study between the two codes. This study shows that the inclusion of a time-dependence in the electron equations, as it is the case in the PIC-approach, is mandatory for simulating any kind of non-stationary oscillations in gyrotrons. Finally, the new code is compared with experimental results and some implications of the violated model assumptions in the TWANG code are disclosed for a gyrotron experiment in which non-stationary regimes have been observed and for a critical case that is of interest in high power gyrotron development.