Electrostatic Particle-in-Cell Simulation Technique for Quasineutral Plasma.
Abstract
We have developed a particle in cell simulation method in which the electrostatic field is determined from the requirement of quasineutrality, rather than Poisson's equation. Time steps may be orders of magnitude longer than the plasma period, and mesh cells orders of magnitude longer than the Debye length, since electron plasma oscillations do not appear in the model and the Debye length is essentially set to zero. The quasineutral approach also avoids the problem of statistical fluctuations in the charge density, which frustrate the use of Poisson's equation in a quasineutral plasma. The simulation technique correctly represents kinetic features such as Landau damping. The method is demonstrated by application to several simple test problems, including free expansion of a plasma, and linear and nonlinear ion sound. In the case of a plasma with strongly magnetized electrons, we apply the technique to determine the parallel electric field and parallel transport within the plasma. Quasineutral techniques for representing cross field transport, and edge effects in bounded plasmas, will be discussed in subsequent publications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 31, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA323507
Entities
People
- Glenn Joyce
- Mártin Lampe
- Steven P. Slinker
- Wallace M. Manheimer
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory