A High-Order Finite-Volume Algorithm for Fokker-Planck Collisions in Magnetized Plasmas
A high-order finite volume algorithm is developed for the Fokker-Planck Operator (FPO) describing Coulomb collisions in strongly magnetized plasmas. The algorithm is based on a general fourth-order reconstruction scheme for an unstructured grid in the velocity space spanned by parallel velocity and magnetic moment. The method provides density conservation and high-order-accurate evaluation of the FPO independent of the choice of the velocity coordinates. As an example, a linearized FPO in constant-of-motion coordinates, i.e. the total energy and the magnetic moment, is developed using the present algorithm combined with a cut-cell merging procedure. Numerical tests include the Spitzer thermalization problem and the return to isotropy for distributions initialized with velocity space loss cones. Utilization of the method for a nonlinear FPO is straightforward but requires evaluation of the Rosenbluth potentials.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 940853
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JRNL-230192; JCTPAH; TRN: US0807225
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Computational Physics, Vol. 227; ISSN 0021-9991
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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