Computer Simulation Using Particles

Abstract

This book on numerical physics deals with the use of particle methods in simulating plasmas and plasmalike media. All the principal steps of a computer experiment are described starting with the physical phenomenon. Much attention is paid to the computer testing of programs. The methods are illustrated in detail on some examples of plasma physics, astrophysics, semiconductor physics, and solid state physics.There are 12 chapters: 1. Computer experiments using particle models; 2. A one-dimensional plasma model; 3. The simulation program; 4. Time integration schemes; 5. The particle-mesh force calculation; 6. The solution of the field equations; 7. Collisionless particle models; 8. Particle-particle-particle-mesh algorithms; 9. Plasma simulation; 10. Semiconductor device simulation; 11. Astrophysics; 12. Solids, liquids, and phase changes.

Efficient data layouts for a three-dimensional electrostatic Particle-in-Cell code

“…In addition, we also simulated nonlinear Landau damping and two-stream instability test cases. Theoretical results which allow to verify the code are available in [2,3]. Thus, we checked the numerical conservation of the total energy and the numerical evolution in time of the electric field.…”

“…Although particle methods are usually characterized by low accuracy, they are able, when using a very large number of particles, to adequately reproduce complicated phenomena, for instance in plasma physics [2,3]. However, in such a situation, a naive implementation can quickly exhibit memory bottlenecks since the overall cost is dominated by data motion and not by computation [4].…”

“…A first obvious difficulty of the extension from 2d to 3d simulations is the need for more storage for the grid quantities [2,3]. If, in a 2d simulation, keeping the whole grid quantities in the cache memory is still possible, this target is much more difficult or even impossible to achieve for a fine grid in the 3d case.…”

“…A PIC method simulates a plasma by integrating self-consistently the trajectories of charged particles with fields that are generated by the particles themselves [2,3]. In the case where there is no other external field and the self-consistent magnetic field is neglected, this relies on solving the following Vlasov-Poisson system:…”

Particle System Dynamics Software for the Design of Constructional Composites

“…These works are primarily inspired by problems arising in astrophysics and thermonuclear fusion. Significant results summarized in [9]; in particular, attention was made to integration schemes suitable for particle dynamics. During the course of elaboration, particle system dynamics is segregated into several areas with designated set of models -molecular dynamics (additional semiclassical provisions from quantum physics), dynamics of complex and non-Newtonian fluids, smoothed particle hydrodynamics and more [7][8][9][10][11].…”