Modeling Beyond Gaussian Laser Pulses in Particle-in-Cell Simulations - The Impact of Higher Order Laser Modes

The predictive power of particle-in-cell (PIC) simu-lations for experiments is limited by the degree of realism that can be modelled: firstly, by the uncertainty of the experimental con-ditions and secondly, by the accuracy with which the PIC model represents the experiment. We present a workflow describing how to determine higher Laguerre mode contributions in laser plasma experiments and how to incorporate them into existing particle-in-cell codes. Furthermore, the relevance of including non-ideal laser pulses is demonstrated on a simple toy model and on a laser wakefield simulation modelling an experimentally measured laser profile.