On the energy conservation electrostatic particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo simulation: Benchmark and application to the radio frequency discharges

We benchmark and analyze the error of energy conservation （EC） scheme in particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo （PIC/MC） algorithms by simulating the radio frequency discharge. The plasma heating behaviors and electron distributing functions obtained by one-dimensional （1D） simulation are analyzed. Both explicit and implicit algorithms are checked. The results showed that the EC scheme can eliminated the self-heating with wide grid spacing in both cases with a small reduction of the accuracies. In typical parameters, the EC implicit scheme has higher precision than EC explicit scheme. Some ＂numerical cooling＂ behaviors are observed and analyzed. Some other errors are also analyzed. The analysis showed that the EC implicit scheme can be used to qualitative estimation of some discharge problems with much less computational resource cost without much loss of accuracies.

Implicit electrostatic particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo simulation for the magnetized plasma:Algorithms and application in gas-inductive breakdown

An implicit electrostatic particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo （PIC/MC） algorithm is developed for the magnetized discharging device simulation. The inductive driving force can be considered. The direct implicit PIC algorithm （DIPIC） and energy conservation scheme are applied together and the grid heating can be eliminated in most cases. A tensor-susceptibility Poisson equation is constructed. Its discrete form is made up by a hybrid scheme in one-dimensional （1D） and two- dimensional （2D） cylindrical systems. A semi-coarsening multigrid method is used to solve the discrete system. The algorithm is applied to simulate the cylindrical magnetized target fusion （MTF） pre-ionization process and get qualitatively correct results. The potential application of the algorithm is discussed briefly.

Spontaneous growth of the reconnection electric field during magnetic reconnection with a guide field:A theoretical model and particle-in-cell simulations

Reconnection electric field is a key element of magnetic reconnection.It quantifies the change of magnetic topology and the dissipation of magnetic energy.In this work,two-dimensional(2D)particle-in-cell(PIC)simulations are performed to study the growth of the reconnection electric field in the electron diffusion region(EDR)during magnetic reconnection with a guide field.At first,a seed electric field is produced due to the excitation of the tearing-mode instability.Then,the reconnection electric field in the EDR,which is dominated by the electron pressure tensor term,suffers a spontaneous growth stage and grows exponentially until it saturates.A theoretical model is also proposed to explain such a kind of growth.The reconnection electric field in the EDR is found to be directly proportional to the electron outflow speed.The time derivative of electron outflow speed is proportional to the reconnection electric field in the EDR because the outflow is formed after the inflow electrons are accelerated by the reconnection electric field in the EDR and then directed away along the outflow direction.This kind of reinforcing process at last leads to the exponential growth of the reconnection electric field in the EDR.

Particle-in-cell simulation for effect of anode temperature on discharge characteristics of a Hall effect thruster

Propellant gas flow has an important impact on the ionization and acceleration process of Hall effect thrusters （HETs）. In this paper, a particle-in-cell numerical method is used to study the effect of the anode temperature, i.e., the flow speed of the propellant gas, on the discharge characteristics of a HET. The simulation results show that, no matter the magnitude of the discharge voltage, the calculated variation trends of performance parameters with the anode temperature are in good agreement with the experimental ones presented in the literature. Further mechanism analysis indicates that the magnitude of the electron temperature is responsible for the two opposing variation laws found under different discharge voltages. When the discharge voltage is low, the electron temperature is low, and so is the intensity of the propellant ionization; the variation of the thruster performance with the anode temperature is thereby determined by the variation of the neutral density that affects the propellant utilization efficiency. When the discharge voltage is high, the electron temperature is large enough to guarantee a high degree of the propellant utilization no matter the magnitude of the anode temperature. The change of the thruster performance with the anode temperature is thus dominated by the change of the electron temperature and consequently the electron-neutral collisions as well as the electron cross-field mobility that affect the current utilization efficiency.

Electromagnetic Particle-in-Cell Simulations of Electron Holes Formed During the Electron Two-Stream Instability

Previous electrostatic particle-in-cell （PIC） simulations have pointed out that elec- tron phase-space holes （electron holes） can be formed during the nonlinear evolution of the electron two-stream instability. The parallel cuts of the parallel and perpendicular electric field have bipolar and unipolar structures in these electron holes, respectively. In this study, two-dimensional （2D） electromagnetic PIC simulations are performed in the x - y plane to investigate the evolution of the electron two-stream instability, with the emphasis on the magnetic structures associated with these electron holes in different plasma conditions. In the simulations, the background magnetic field （Bo = Boer） is along the x direction. In weakly magnetized plasma （Ωe 〈ωpe, where Ωe and ωpe are the electron gyrofrequency and electron plasma frequency, respectively）, several 2D electron holes are formed. In these 2D electron holes, the parallel cut of the fluctuating magnetic field δBx and δBz has unipolar structures, while the fluctuating magnetic field δBy has bipolar structures. In strongly magnetized plasma （Ωe 〉 ωpe）, several quasi-lD electron holes are formed. The electrostatic whistler waves with streaked structures of Ey are excited. The fluctuating mag- netic field δBx and δBz also have streaked structures. The fluctuating magnetic field δBx and δBy are produced by the current in the z direction due to the electric field drift of the trapped elec- trons, while the fluctuating magnetic field δBz can be explained by the Lorentz transformation of a moving quasielectrostatic structure. The influences of the initial temperature anisotropy on the magnetic structures of the electron holes are also analyzed. The electromagnetic whistler waves are found to be excited in weakly magnetized plasma. However, they do not have any significant effects on the electrostatic structures of the electron holes.

Speeding-up direct implicit particle-in-cell simulations in bounded plasma by obtaining future electric field through explicitly propulsion of particles

The direct implicit particle-in-cell is a powerful kinetic method for researching plasma characteristics.However,it is time-consuming to obtain the future electromagnetic field in such a method since the field equations contain time-dependent matrix coefficients.In this work,we propose to explicitly push particles and obtain the future electromagnetic field based on the information about the particles in the future.The new method retains the form of implicit particle pusher,but the future field is obtained by solving the traditional explicit equation.Several numerical experiments,including the motion of charged particle in electromagnetic field,plasma sheath,and free diffusion of plasma into vacuum,are implemented to evaluate the performance of the method.The results demonstrate that the proposed method can suppress finite-grid-instability resulting from the coarse spatial resolution in electron Debye length through the strong damping of high-frequency plasma oscillation,while accurately describe low-frequency plasma phenomena,with the price of losing the numerical stability at large time-step.We believe that this work is helpful for people to research the bounded plasma by using particle-in-cell simulations.

Effects of electron trapping on nonlinear electron-acoustic waves excited by an electron beam via particle-in-cell simulations

By performing one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, the nonlinear effects of electronacoustic(EA) waves are investigated in a multispecies plasma, whose constituents are hot electrons, cold electrons, and beam electrons with immobile neutralized positive ions. Numerical analyses have identified that EA waves with a sufficiently large amplitude tend to trap cold electrons. Because EA waves are dispersive, where the wave modes with different wavenumbers have different phase velocities, the trapping may lead to the mixing of cold electrons. The cold electrons finally get thermalized or heated. The investigation also shows that the excited EA waves give rise to a broad range of wave frequencies, which may be helpful for understanding the broadband-electrostatic-noise spectrum in the Earth’s auroral region.

Explicit structure-preserving geometric particle-in-cell algorithm in curvilinear orthogonal coordinate systems and its applications to whole-device 6D kinetic simulations of tokamak physics

Explicit structure-preserving geometric particle-in-cell(PIC)algorithm in curvilinear orthogonal coordinate systems is developed.The work reported represents a further development of the structure-preserving geometric PIC algorithm achieving the goal of practical applications in magnetic fusion research.The algorithm is constructed by discretizing the field theory for the system of charged particles and electromagnetic field using Whitney forms,discrete exterior calculus,and explicit non-canonical symplectic integration.In addition to the truncated infinitely dimensional symplectic structure,the algorithm preserves exactly many important physical symmetries and conservation laws,such as local energy conservation,gauge symmetry and the corresponding local charge conservation.As a result,the algorithm possesses the long-term accuracy and fidelity required for first-principles-based simulations of the multiscale tokamak physics.The algorithm has been implemented in the Sym PIC code,which is designed for highefficiency massively-parallel PIC simulations in modern clusters.The code has been applied to carry out whole-device 6 D kinetic simulation studies of tokamak physics.A self-consistent kinetic steady state for fusion plasma in the tokamak geometry is numerically found with a predominately diagonal and anisotropic pressure tensor.The state also admits a steady-state subsonic ion flow in the range of 10 km s-1,agreeing with experimental observations and analytical calculations Kinetic ballooning instability in the self-consistent kinetic steady state is simulated.It is shown that high-n ballooning modes have larger growth rates than low-n global modes,and in the nonlinear phase the modes saturate approximately in 5 ion transit times at the 2%level by the E×B flow generated by the instability.These results are consistent with early and recent electromagnetic gyrokinetic simulations.

Particle-in-cell simulation of ion-acoustic solitary waves in a bounded plasma

We study some nonlinear waves in a viscous plasma which is confined in a finite cylinder.By averaging the physical quantities on the radial direction in some cases,we reduce this system to a simple one-dimensional model.It seems that the effects of the bounded geometry(the radius of the cylinder in this case)can be included in the damping coefficient.We notice that the amplitudes of both Korteweg–de Vries(KdV)solitary waves and dark envelope solitary waves decrease exponentially as time increases from the particle-in-cell(PIC)simulation.The dependence of damping coefficient on the cylinder radius and the viscosity coefficient is also obtained numerically and analytically.Both are in good agreement.By using a definition,we give a condition whether a solitary wave exists in a bounded plasma.Moreover,some of potential applications in laboratory experiments are suggested.

Particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo simulation of filamentary barrier discharges

The plasma behavior of filamentary barrier discharges in helium is simulated using a twodimensional（2D） particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo model. Four different phases have been suggested in terms of the development of the discharge： the Townsend phase; the space-charge dominated phase; the formation of the cathode layer, and the extinguishing phase. The spatialtemporal evolution of the particle densities, velocities of the charged particles, electric fields, and surface charges has been demonstrated. Our simulation provides insights into the underlying mechanism of the discharge and explains many dynamical behaviors of dielectric barrier discharge（DBD） filaments.

Particle-in-Cell Simulation of the Reflection of a Korteweg-de Vries Solitary Wave and an Envelope Solitary Wave at a Solid Boundary

Reflections of a Korteweg-de Vries （KdV） solitary wave and an envelope solitary wave are studied by using the particle-in-cell simulation method. Defining the phase shift of the reflected solitary wave, we notice that there is a phase shift of the reflected KdV solitary wave, while there is no phase shift for an envelope solitary wave. It is also noted that the reflection of a KdV solitary wave at a solid boundary is equivalent to the head-on collision between two identical amplitude solitary waves.

Affine particle-in-cell method for two-phase liquid simulation

Background The interaction of gas and liquid can produce many interesting phenomena,such as bubbles rising from the bottom of the liquid.The simulation of two-phase fluids is a challenging topic in computer graphics.To animate the interaction of a gas and liquid,MultiFLIP samples the two types of particles,and a Euler grid is used to track the interface of the liquid and gas.However,MultiFLIP uses the fluid implicit particle(FLIP)method to interpolate the velocities of particles into the Euler grid,which suffer from additional noise and instability.Methods To solve the problem caused by fluid implicit particles(FLIP),we present a novel velocity transport technique for two individual particles based on the affine particle-in-cell(APIC)method.First,we design a weighed coupling method for interpolating the velocities of liquid and gas particles to the Euler grid such that we can apply the APIC method to the simulation of a two-phase fluid.Second,we introduce a narrowband method to our system because MultiFLIP is a time-consuming approach owing to the large number of particles.Results Experiments show that our method is well integrated with the APIC method and provides a visually credible two-phase fluid animation.Conclusions The proposed method can successfully handle the simulation of a two phase fluid.

Stability of finite difference numerical simulations of acoustic logging-while-drilling with different perfectly matched layer schemes

In acoustic logging-while-drilling （ALWD） finite difference in time domain （FDTD） simulations, large drill collar occupies, most of the fluid-filled borehole and divides the borehole fluid into two thin fluid columns （radius -27 mm）. Fine grids and large computational models are required to model the thin fluid region between the tool and the formation. As a result, small time step and more iterations are needed, which increases the cumulative numerical error. Furthermore, due to high impedance contrast between the drill collar and fluid in the borehole （the difference is 〉30 times）, the stability and efficiency of the perfectly matched layer （PML） scheme is critical to simulate complicated wave modes accurately. In this paper, we compared four different PML implementations in a staggered grid finite difference in time domain （FDTD） in the ALWD simulation, including field-splitting PML （SPML）, multiaxial PML（M- PML）, non-splitting PML （NPML）, and complex frequency-shifted PML （CFS-PML）. The comparison indicated that NPML and CFS-PML can absorb the guided wave reflection from the computational boundaries more efficiently than SPML and M-PML. For large simulation time, SPML, M-PML, and NPML are numerically unstable. However, the stability of M-PML can be improved further to some extent. Based on the analysis, we proposed that the CFS-PML method is used in FDTD to eliminate the numerical instability and to improve the efficiency of absorption in the PML layers for LWD modeling. The optimal values of CFS-PML parameters in the LWD simulation were investigated based on thousands of 3D simulations. For typical LWD cases, the best maximum value of the quadratic damping profile was obtained using one do. The optimal parameter space for the maximum value of the linear frequency-shifted factor （a0） and the scaling factor （β0） depended on the thickness of the PML layer. For typical formations, if the PML thickness is 10 grid points, the global error can be reduced to 〈1% using the optimal PML parameters, and the error will decrease as the PML thickness increases.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF SUPERSONIC AXISYMMETRIC FLOW OVER MISSILE AFTERBODY WITH JET EXHAUST USING POSITIVE SCHEMES

Supersonic axisymmetric jet flow over a missile afterbody containing exhaust jet is simulated using the second order accurate positive schemes method developed for solving the axisymmetric Euler equations based on the 2-D conservation laws.Comparisons between the numerical results and the experimental measurements show excellent agreements.The computed results are in good agreement with the numerical solutions obtained by using third order accurate RKDG finite element method.The results show larger gradient at discontinuous points compared with those obtained by second order accurate TVD schemes.It indicates that the presented method is efficient and reliable for solving the axisymmetric jet with external freestream flows,and shows that the method captures shocks well without numerical noise.

Arrhenius relationship and two-step scheme in AF hyperdynamics simulation of diffusion of Mg/Zn interface

The accelerating factor （AF） method is a simple and appropriate way to investigate the atomic long-time deep diffusion at solid-solid interface. In the framework of AF hyperdynamics （HD） simulation, the relationship between the diffusion coefficient along the direction of z-axis which is normal to the Mg/Zn interface and temperature was investigated, and the AF＇s impact on the diffusion constant （D0） and activation energy （Q^＊） was studied. Then, two steps were taken to simulate the atomic diffusion process and the formation of new phases： one for acceleration and the other for equilibration. The results show that： the Arrhenius equation works well for the description of Dz with different accelerating factors; the AF has no effect on the diffusion constant Do in the case of no phase transition; and the relationship between Q＊ and Q conforms to Q^＊=Q/A. Then, the new Arrhenius equation for AFHD is successfully constructed as Dz=Doexp[-Q/（ART）]. Meanwhile, the authentic equilibrium conformations at any dynamic moment can only be reproduced by the equilibration simulation of the HD-simulated configurations. Key words： accelerating factor method; Arrhenius equation; two-steps scheme; Mg/Zn interface; hyperdynamic simulation

The Sensitivity of Numerical Simulation of the East Asian Monsoon to Different Cumulus Parameterization Schemes

In this paper, a 5-level spectral AGCM is used to examine the sensitivity of simulated East Asian summer monsoon circulation and rainfall to cumulus parameterization schemes. From the simulated results of East Asian monsoon circulations and rainfalls during the summers of 1987 and 1995, it is shown that the Kuo′s convective parameterization scheme is more suitable for the numerical simulation of East Asian summer monsoon rainfall and circulation. This may be due to that the cumulus in the rainfall system is not strong in the East Asian monsoon region.

Application of ADER Scheme in MHD Simulation

The Arbitrary accuracy Derivatives Riemann problem method(ADER) scheme is a new high order numerical scheme based on the concept of finite volume integration,and it is very easy to be extended up to any order of space and time accuracy by using a Taylor time expansion at the cell interface position.So far the approach has been applied successfully to flow mechanics problems.Our objective here is to carry out the extension of multidimensional ADER schemes to multidimensional MHD systems of conservation laws by calculating several MHD problems in one and two dimensions: (ⅰ) Brio-Wu shock tube problem,(ⅱ) Dai-Woodward shock tube problem,(ⅲ) Orszag-Tang MHD vortex problem.The numerical results prove that the ADER scheme possesses the ability to solve MHD problem,remains high order accuracy both in space and time,keeps precise in capturing the shock.Meanwhile,the compared tests show that the ADER scheme can restrain the oscillation and obtain the high order non-oscillatory result.

Impact of Horizontal Resolution and Cumulus Parameterization Scheme on the Simulation of Heavy Rainfall Events over the Korean Peninsula

In this paper, we present the results from high-resolution numerical simulations of three heavy rainfall events over the Korean Peninsula. The numerical results show that the prediction accuracy for heavy rainfall events improved as horizontal resolution increased. The fine-grid precipitation fields were much closer to the real precipitation fields in the case of large synoptic forcing over the Korean Peninsula. In the case of large convective available potential energy and weak synoptic forcing, it seems that even when using a high resolution, the models still showed poor performance in reproducing the observed high precipitation amounts. However, activation of the cumulus parameterization scheme in the intermediate resolution of 9 km, even at a grid spacing of 3 km, had a positive impact on the simulation of the heavy rainfall event.

Radiation Hydrodynamic Simulations in the Planar Scheme for the Fundamental Studies of Shock Ignition

As a fundamental and crucial research topic in the direct-driven inertial confinement fusion（ICF）,especially for shock ignition（SI）,investigation on the laser coupling with planar lowZ targets is beneficial for deep physical comprehension at the primary phase of SI.The production of the intense shock and the shock coalescence in the multi-layer targets,driven by the 3ω intense laser（351 nm the wavelength）,were studied in detail with the 1D and 2D radiation hydrodynamic simulations.It was inferred that the 1D simulation would overrate the shock velocity and the ablation pressure of the spike;the coalescence time and the velocity of the coalescence shock depended evidently on the pulse shape and the start time of the spike.The present study can also provide a semi-quantitative reference for the design of the SI decomposition experiments on the Shenguang-III prototype laser facility.

Optimized Reimbursement Scheme of China's New Cooperative Medical System Using Monte Carlo Simulation

China＇s Rural Cooperative Medical System collapsed alongside communal farming at the end of the Maoist period in 1976, leaving most farmers vulnerable[1]. In rural areas, where 80% of people have been without health insurance of any kind, illness has emerged as a leading cause of poverty[24]. To address the poor state of health care among the rural population, in 2003 the Chinese government launched the New Rural Cooperative Medical System （NCMS）,