Kinetic Solvers with Adaptive Mesh in Phase Space for Low-Temperature Plasmas

Abstract

We describe the implementation of 1d1v and 1d2v Vlasov and Fokker-Planck kinetic solvers with adaptive mesh refinement in phase space (AMPS) and coupling these kinetic solvers to Poisson equation solver for electric field. We demonstrate that coupling AMPS kinetic and electrostatic solvers can be done efficiently without splitting phase-space transport. We show that Eulerian fluid and kinetic solvers with dynamically adaptive Cartesian mesh can be used for simulations of collisionless plasma expansion into vacuum. The Vlasov-Fokker-Planck solver is demonstrated for the analysis of electron acceleration and scattering as well as the generation of runaway electrons in spatially inhomogeneous electric fields.

Electron Groups in Solar Wind and Gas Discharge Plasmas

“…We have applied the previously developed 1d1v and 1d2v kinetic solvers 3,4 to simulate the formation of electron groups in the cathode region. The kinetic equations were solved using Adaptive Mesh in Phase Space (AMPS) technique with spherical coordinate system in velocity space.…”

“…In this paper, we describe some typical scenarios for the formation of electron groups in solar wind and laboratory plasmas. The previously developed Fokker-Planck kinetic solvers 3,4 are used to illustrate peculiarities of electron kinetics in the cathode region of glow discharges and solar wind.…”

Boltzmann-Fokker-Planck kinetic solver with adaptive mesh in phase space

“…We have previously developed accurate interpolation techniques to couple 1d2v Vlasov and Fokker-Planck solvers with 1d Poisson solver. 4 In the present paper, we extend this technique to the Boltzmann-Fokker-Planck solvers for electrons in weakly-ionized collisional plasma.…”