A curvilinear, fully implicit, conservative electromagnetic PIC algorithm in multiple dimensions
Here, we extend a recently proposed fully implicit PIC algorithm for the Vlasov–Darwin model in multiple dimensions (Chen and Chacón (2015) [1]) to curvilinear geometry. As in the Cartesian case, the approach is based on a potential formulation (Φ, A), and overcomes many difficulties of traditional semi-implicit Darwin PIC algorithms. Conservation theorems for local charge and global energy are derived in curvilinear representation, and then enforced discretely by a careful choice of the discretization of field and particle equations. Additionally, the algorithm conserves canonical-momentum in any ignorable direction, and preserves the Coulomb gauge ∇ • A = 0 exactly. An asymptotically well-posed fluid preconditioner allows efficient use of large cell sizes, which are determined by accuracy considerations, not stability, and can be orders of magnitude larger than required in a standard explicit electromagnetic PIC simulation. We demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency properties of the algorithm with numerical experiments in mapped meshes in 1D-3V and 2D-3V.
- Publication Date:
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-15-27639
Journal ID: ISSN 0021-9991
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Computational Physics
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 316; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 0021-9991
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Research Org:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Org:
- USDOE
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING; 70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; Mathematics; Magnetic Fusion Energy
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1255248
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1348010