Inertial fusion research strongly depends on numerical simulation. Dedicated code development, making use of latest advances in computer hardware, needs to be applied. Within the European keep-in-touch activities on inertial fusion and in close cooperation with the GIFI group at Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, the MPQ group has made significant contributions in three directions:

The MULTI code is the only code for two-dimensional target design, fully published, freely available, and used by many research groups around the world. The development of particle-in-cell simulation was pioneered by the MPQ goup, in particular in three spatial dimensions, an essential point for relativistic laser particle interaction involving strong magnetic fields. The challenge of simulating fast ignition of fusion targets lies in the high density, involving particle collisions and plasma oscillations with periods as short as 10 attoseconds. Full microscopic treatment of these features is presently still beyond computer capabilities. We have therefore developed hybrid simulation, treating the background plasma by magneto-hydrodynamic equations and only the relativistic beam by particle-in-cell. This approximate approach has allowed us to do first simulations of fast ignition including electron transport and magnetic field effects.