An Asymptotic Preserving Scheme for the Euler equations in a strong magnetic field

This paper is concerned with the numerical approximation of the isothermal Euler equations for charged particles subject to the Lorentz force. When the magnetic field is large, the so-called drift-fluid approximation is obtained. In this limit, the parallel motion relative to the magnetic field direction splits from perpendicular motion and is given implicitly by the constraint of zero total force along the magnetic field lines. In this paper, we provide a well-posed elliptic equation for the parallel velocity which in turn allows us to construct an Asymptotic-Preserving (AP) scheme for the Euler-Lorentz system. This scheme gives rise to both a consistent approximation of the Euler-Lorentz model when epsilon is finite and a consistent approximation of the drift limit when epsilon tends to 0. Above all, it does not require any constraint on the space and time steps related to the small value of epsilon. Numerical results are presented, which confirm the AP character of the scheme and its Asymptotic Stability

ELM triggering conditions for the integrated modeling of H-mode plasmas

Recent advances in the integrated modeling of ELMy H-mode plasmas are presented. A model for the H-mode pedestal and for the triggering of ELMs predicts the height, width, and shape of the H-mode pedestal and the frequency and width of ELMs. Formation of the pedestal and the L-H transition is the direct result of ExB flow shear suppression of anomalous transport. The periodic ELM crashes are triggered by either the ballooning or peeling MHD instabilities. The BALOO, DCON, and ELITE ideal MHD stability codes are used to derive a new parametric expression for the peeling-ballooning threshold. The new dependence for the peeling-ballooning threshold is implemented in the ASTRA transport code. Results of integrated modeling of DIII-D like discharges are presented and compared with experimental observations. The results from the ideal MHD stability codes are compared with results from the resistive MHD stability code NIMROD.Comment: 12th International Congress on Plasma Physics, 25-29 October 2004, Nice (France

Uncertainty quantification for kinetic models in socio-economic and life sciences

Kinetic equations play a major rule in modeling large systems of interacting particles. Recently the legacy of classical kinetic theory found novel applications in socio-economic and life sciences, where processes characterized by large groups of agents exhibit spontaneous emergence of social structures. Well-known examples are the formation of clusters in opinion dynamics, the appearance of inequalities in wealth distributions, flocking and milling behaviors in swarming models, synchronization phenomena in biological systems and lane formation in pedestrian traffic. The construction of kinetic models describing the above processes, however, has to face the difficulty of the lack of fundamental principles since physical forces are replaced by empirical social forces. These empirical forces are typically constructed with the aim to reproduce qualitatively the observed system behaviors, like the emergence of social structures, and are at best known in terms of statistical information of the modeling parameters. For this reason the presence of random inputs characterizing the parameters uncertainty should be considered as an essential feature in the modeling process. In this survey we introduce several examples of such kinetic models, that are mathematically described by nonlinear Vlasov and Fokker--Planck equations, and present different numerical approaches for uncertainty quantification which preserve the main features of the kinetic solution.Comment: To appear in "Uncertainty Quantification for Hyperbolic and Kinetic Equations

Multicomponent theory of buoyancy instabilities in magnetized plasmas: The case of magnetic field parallel to gravity

We investigate electromagnetic buoyancy instabilities of the electron-ion plasma with the heat flux based on not the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations, but using the multicomponent plasma approach when the momentum equations are solved for each species. We consider a geometry in which the background magnetic field, gravity, and stratification are directed along one axis. The nonzero background electron thermal flux is taken into account. Collisions between electrons and ions are included in the momentum equations. No simplifications usual for the one-fluid MHD-approach in studying these instabilities are used. We derive a simple dispersion relation, which shows that the thermal flux perturbation generally stabilizes an instability for the geometry under consideration. This result contradicts to conclusion obtained in the MHD-approach. We show that the reason of this contradiction is the simplified assumptions used in the MHD analysis of buoyancy instabilities and the role of the longitudinal electric field perturbation which is not captured by the ideal MHD equations. Our dispersion relation also shows that the medium with the electron thermal flux can be unstable, if the temperature gradients of ions and electrons have the opposite signs. The results obtained can be applied to the weakly collisional magnetized plasma objects in laboratory and astrophysics.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc

Particle Simulation of Coulomb Collisions: Comparing the Methods of Takizuka & Abe and Nanbu

The interactions of charged particles in a plasma are in a plasma is governed by the long-range Coulomb collision. We compare two widely used Monte Carlo models for Coulomb collisions. One was developed by Takizuka and Abe in 1977, the other was developed by Nanbu in 1997. We perform deterministic and stochastic error analysis with respect to particle number and time step. The two models produce similar stochastic errors, but Nanbu's model gives smaller time step errors. Error comparisons between these two methods are presented

Verification of Gyrokinetic (delta)f Simulations of Electron Temperature Gradient Turbulence

The GEM gyrokinetic {delta}f simulation code [Chen, 2003] [Chen, 2007] is shown to reproduce electron temperature gradient turbulence at the benchmark operating point established in previous work [Nevins, 2006]. The electron thermal transport is within 10% of the expected value, while the turbulent fluctuation spectrum is shown to have the expected intensity and two-point correlation function

Gyrokinetic Simulations of ETG and ITG Turbulence

Published gyrokinetic continuum-code simulations indicated levels of the electron thermal conductivity {chi}{sub e} due to electron-temperature-gradient (ETG) turbulence large enough to be significant in some tokamaks, while subsequent global particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations gave significantly lower values. We have carried out an investigation of this discrepancy. We have reproduced the key features of the aforementioned PIC simulations using the flux-tube gyrokinetic PIC code, PG3EQ, thereby eliminating global effects and as the cause of the discrepancy. We show that the late-time low-transport state in both of these sets of PIC simulations is a result of discrete particle noise, which is a numerical artifact. Thus, the low value of {chi}{sub e} along with conclusions about anomalous transport drawn from these particular PIC simulations are unjustified. In our attempts to benchmark PIC and continuum codes for ETG turbulence at the plasma parameters used above, both produce very large intermittent transport. We have therefore undertaken benchmarks at an alternate reference point, magnetic shear s=0.1 instead of s=0.796, and have found that PIC and continuum codes reproduce the same transport levels. Scans in the magnetic shear show an abrupt transition to a high-{chi}{sub e} state as the shear is increased above s=0.4. When nonadiabatic ions are used, this abrupt transition is absent, and {chi}{sub e} increases gradually reaching values consistent with transport analyses of DIII-D, JET, and JT60-U discharges. New results on the balances of zonal-flow driving and damping terms in late-time quasi-steady ITG turbulence and on real-geometry gyrokinetic simulations of shaped DIII-D discharges are also reported