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Performance and optimization of direct implicit particle simulation

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Abstract

Performance characteristics obtained from particle simulations using the direct implicit method are presented. Parameter studies of simulation behavior for an expanding plasma slab have been made determining code performance as functions of ωpe Δt and ΔxλDe, where ωpe is the plasma frequency, λDe, is the electron Debye length, Δt is the time step, and Δx is the grid spacing. A range of time steps ωpe Δt ⩽ 200 and mesh sizes ΔxλrmDe ⩽ 100 were explored. Accurate results for low-frequency phenomena resolved by the time step can be obtained without limit on ωpe Δt in this range (and higher) with a careful choice of algorithms. This choice of algorithms defeats a potential nonlinear instability that occurs when (ωpe Δt)2 exceeds the number of particles per cell.

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