Simulations of relativistic quantum plasmas using real-time lattice scalar QED
- Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Dept. of Astrophysical Sciences; Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
- Univ. of Science and Technology of China, Hefei (China). School of Nuclear Science and Technology and Dept. of Modern Physics
- Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Dept. of Astrophysical Sciences; Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Univ. of Science and Technology of China, Hefei (China). School of Nuclear Science and Technology and Dept. of Modern Physics
Real-time lattice quantum electrodynamics (QED) provides a unique tool for simulating plasmas in the strong-field regime, where collective plasma scales are not well separated from relativistic-quantum scales. As a toy model, we study scalar QED, which describes self-consistent interactions between charged bosons and electromagnetic fields. To solve this model on a computer, we first discretize the scalar-QED action on a lattice, in a way that respects geometric structures of exterior calculus and U(1)-gauge symmetry. The lattice scalar QED can then be solved, in the classical-statistics regime, by advancing an ensemble of statistically equivalent initial conditions in time, using classical field equations obtained by extremizing the discrete action. To demonstrate the capability of our numerical scheme, we apply it to two example problems. The first example is the propagation of linear waves, where we recover analytic wave dispersion relations using numerical spectrum. The second example is an intense laser interacting with a one-dimensional plasma slab, where we demonstrate natural transition from wakefield acceleration to pair production when the wave amplitude exceeds the Schwinger threshold. Our real-time lattice scheme is fully explicit and respects local conservation laws, making it reliable for long-time dynamics. The algorithm is readily parallelized using domain decomposition, and the ensemble may also be computed using quantum parallelism in the future.
- Research Organization:
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS); Chinese Scholar Council (CSC); Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- NA0002948; AC02-09CH11466; NSFC-11575185; 11575186; 11305171; NSFC-11261140328; QYZDB-SSW-SYS004; 201506340103; 2015GB111003; 2014GB124005
- OSTI ID:
- 1465665
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1436538
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review E, Vol. 97, Issue 5; ISSN 2470-0045
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Symmetries and local conservation laws of variational schemes for the surface plasmon polaritons
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journal | April 2019 |
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