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7. Investigation of complex plasma phenomena with particle simulation

Instructors Dr. Hiroki Hasegawa, Dr. Hiroaki Ohtani, Dr. Shunsuke Usami, and Dr. Toseo Moritaka

 High temperature nuclear fusion plasmas confined in the magnetic field and plasmas seen in nature each show very complicated behavior. Simulation research using a supercomputer plays an important role as one way to investigate such complicated phenomena. In simulation research, the complicated behavior of plasma can be reproduced in a computer using various models (e.g., fluid models, particle models, etc.). These models are properly used depending on the phenomenon to be reproduced. Particle- in-cell (PIC) simulation is used to investigate kinetic phenomena in plasma (e.g., interaction between particle and wave in plasma). In PIC simulation, it is possible to simulate the complicated phenomena of plasma by solving the equation of motion of individual charged particles and the Maxwell equations self-consistently. In this topic, we learn the basics of the PIC method and perform the simulation in order to understand complicated phenomena in plasma.

Examples of particle simulation (Two stream instability: particle distribution in the phase space, potential profile, and time evolution of electric field energy) and scene of discussion (right)