A spectral, quasi-cylindrical and dispersion-free Particle-In-Cell algorithm

By R. Lehe, M. Kirchen, I. Andriyash, B. Godfrey, J. Vay. Computer Physics Communications, 2015

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Abstract We propose a spectral Particle-In-Cell (PIC) algorithm that is based on the combination of a Hankel transform and a Fourier transform. For physical problems that have close-to-cylindrical symmetry, this algorithm can be much faster than full 3D PIC algorithms. In addition, unlike standard finite-difference PIC codes, the proposed algorithm is free of spurious numerical dispersion, in vacuum. This algorithm is benchmarked in several situations that are of interest for laser–plasma interactions. These benchmarks show that it avoids a number of numerical artifacts, that would otherwise affect the physics in a standard PIC algorithm — including the zero-order numerical Cherenkov effect.

Subfields: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Nuclear and High Energy Physics, Ocean Engineering

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a40ffcd8f3dea2150913e82f52850cb2f70dce5b