The study of plasmas is crucial in improving our understanding of the universe, and they are being increasingly utilised in key technologies such as spacecraft thrusters, plasma medicine, and fusion energy. Providing readers with an easy to follow set of examples that clearly illustrate how simulation codes are written, this book guides readers through how to develop C++ computer codes for simulating plasmas primarily with the kinetic Particle in Cell (PIC) method. This text will be invaluable to advanced undergraduates and graduate students in physics and engineering looking to learn how to put the theory to the test. Features: Provides a step-by-step introduction to plasma simulations with easy to follow examples Discusses the electrostatic and electromagnetic Particle in Cell (PIC) method on structured and unstructured meshes, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), and Vlasov solvers Covered topics include Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) collisions, surface interactions, axisymmetry, and parallelization strategies. Lubos Brieda has over 15 years of experience developing plasma and gas simulation codes for electric propulsion, contamination transport, and plasma-surface interactions. As part of his master’s research work, he developed a 3D ES-PIC electric propulsion plume code, Draco, which is to this date utilized by government labs and private aerospace firms to study plasma thruster plumes. His Ph.D, obtained in 2012 from George Washington University, USA, focused on a multi-scale model for Hall thrusters utilizing fluid-kinetic hybrid PIC codes. He has since then been involved in numerous projects involving development and the use of plasma simulation tools. Since 2014 he has been teaching online courses on plasma simulations through his website: particleincell.com.

Plasma Modeling: Methods and applications presents and discusses the different approaches that can be adopted for plasma modeling, giving details about theoretical and numerical methods. It describes kinetic models used in plasma investigations, develops the theory of fluid equations and hybrid models, and discusses applications and practical problems across a range of fields. This updated second edition contains over 200 pages of new material, including an extensive new part that discusses methods to calculate data needed in plasma modeling, such as thermodynamic and transport properties, state specific rate coefficients in heavy particle collisions and electron impact cross-sections. This updated research and reference text is an excellent resource to assist and direct students and researchers who want to develop research activity in the field of plasma physics in the choice of the best model for the problem of interest.

In spite of its high cost and technical importance, plasma equipment is still largely designed empirically, with little help from computer simulation. Plasma process control is rudimentary. Optimization of plasma reactor operation, including adjustments to deal with increasingly stringent controls on plant emissions, is performed predominantly by trial and error. There is now a strong and growing economic incentive to improve on the traditional methods of plasma reactor and process design, optimization, and control. An obvious strategy for both chip manufacturers and plasma equipment suppliers is to employ large-scale modeling and simulation. The major roadblock to further development of this promising strategy is the lack of a database for the many physical and chemical processes that occur in the plasma. The data that are currently available are often scattered throughout the scientific literature, and assessments of their reliability are usually unavailable. Database Needs for Modeling and Simulation of Plasma Processing identifies strategies to add data to the existing database, to improve access to the database, and to assess the reliability of the available data. In addition to identifying the most important needs, this report assesses the experimental and theoretical/computational techniques that can be used, or must be developed, in order to begin to satisfy these needs.

The aim of this book is twofold: to provide an introduction for newcomers to state of the art computer simulation techniques in space plasma physics and an overview of current developments. Computer simulation has reached a stage where it can be a highly useful tool for guiding theory and for making predictions of space plasma phenomena, ranging from microscopic to global scales. The various articles are arranged, as much as possible, according to the - derlying simulation technique, starting with the technique that makes the least number of assumptions: a fully kinetic approach which solves the coupled set of Maxwell’s equations for the electromagnetic ?eld and the equations of motion for a very large number of charged particles (electrons and ions) in this ?eld. Clearly, this is also the computationally most demanding model. Therefore, even with present day high performance computers, it is the most restrictive in terms of the space and time domain and the range of particle parameters that can be covered by the simulation experiments. It still makes sense, therefore, to also use models, which due to their simp- fying assumptions, seem less realistic, although the e?ect of these assumptions on the outcome of the simulation experiments needs to be carefully assessed.

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 44. Existing models of the plasma distribution and dynamics in magnetosphere / ionosphere systems form a patchwork quilt of different techniques and boundaries chosen to define tractable problems. With increasing sophistication in both observational and modeling techniques has come the desire to overcome these limitations and strive for a more unified description of these systems. On the observational side, we have recently acquired routine access to diagnostic information on the lowest energy bulk plasma, completing our view of the plasma and making possible comparisons with magnetohydrodynamic calculations of plasma moments. On the theoretical side, rising computational capabilities and shrewdly designed computational techniques have permitted the first attacks on the global structure of the magnetosphere. Similar advances in the modeling of neutral atmospheric circulation suggest an emergent capability to globally treat the coupling between plasma and neutral gases. Simultaneously, computer simulation has proven to be a very useful tool for understanding magnetospheric behaviors on smaller space and time scales.

The emergence over the past several years of space plasma simula tions as a distinct field of endeavor, rather than simply the somewhat startling offspring of plasma physics, computer simulations and space observations, has necessitated a concentrated effort at interdigitat ing its parent and component fields. After several years of working the benefits of a well-defined interactive community of those without working in the field, a group of those who had gained greatly from setting up joint research projects and other lines of communication, arranged to further these gains by setting up the First International School for Space Simulations, which was organized by Kyoto University and held in Kyoto, Japan in November 1982. Its unqualified success led to the organization of the second such School, this time by the University of California, Los Angeles, and held in Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii. The Second International School for Space Simulations drew some 175 attendees from around the world; the distribution of attendees approached the targeted equal representation by established investi gators and graduate students/beginning investigators. This strong attendance by graduate students and beginning investigators was due to the generous support of a number of funding agencies from the United States and Japan as well as international scientific organizations.

TO THE SECOND EDITION In the nine years since this book was first written, rapid progress has been made scientifically in nuclear fusion, space physics, and nonlinear plasma theory. At the same time, the energy shortage on the one hand and the exploration of Jupiter and Saturn on the other have increased the national awareness of the important applications of plasma physics to energy production and to the understanding of our space environment. In magnetic confinement fusion, this period has seen the attainment 13 of a Lawson number nTE of 2 x 10 cm -3 sec in the Alcator tokamaks at MIT; neutral-beam heating of the PL T tokamak at Princeton to KTi = 6. 5 keV; increase of average ß to 3%-5% in tokamaks at Oak Ridge and General Atomic; and the stabilization of mirror-confined plasmas at Livermore, together with injection of ion current to near field-reversal conditions in the 2XIIß device. Invention of the tandem mirror has given magnetic confinement a new and exciting dimension. New ideas have emerged, such as the compact torus, surface-field devices, and the EßT mirror-torus hybrid, and some old ideas, such as the stellarator and the reversed-field pinch, have been revived. Radiofrequency heat ing has become a new star with its promise of dc current drive. Perhaps most importantly, great progress has been made in the understanding of the MHD behavior of toroidal plasmas: tearing modes, magnetic Vll Vlll islands, and disruptions.

Assuming no prior knowledge of plasma physics or numerical methods, Computational Methods in Plasma Physics covers the computational mathematics and techniques needed to simulate magnetically confined plasmas in modern magnetic fusion experiments and future magnetic fusion reactors. Largely self-contained, the text presents the basic concepts neces

Divided into three main parts, the book guides the reader to an understanding of the basic concepts in this fascinating field of research. Part 1 introduces you to the fundamental concepts of simulation. It examines one-dimensional electrostatic codes and electromagnetic codes, and describes the numerical methods and analysis. Part 2 explores the mathematics and physics behind the algorithms used in Part 1. In Part 3, the authors address some of the more complicated simulations in two and three dimensions. The book introduces projects to encourage practical work Readers can download plasma modeling and simulation software — the ES1 program — with implementations for PCs and Unix systems along with the original FORTRAN source code. p-BodyText2Now available in paperback, Plasma Physics via Computer Simulation is an ideal complement to plasma physics courses and for self-study.

This book offers the reader an overview of the basic approaches to the theoretical description of low-temperature plasmas, covering numerical methods, mathematical models and modeling techniques. The main methods of calculating the cross sections of plasma particle interaction and the solution of the kinetic Boltzmann equation for determining the transport coefficients of the plasma are also presented. The results of calculations of thermodynamic properties, transport coefficients, the equilibrium particle-interaction cross sections and two-temperature plasmas are also discussed. Later chapters consider applications, and the results of simulation and calculation of plasma parameters in induction and arc plasma torches are presented. The complex physical processes in high-frequency plasmas and arc plasmas, the internal and external parameters of plasma torches, near-electrode processes, heat transfer, the flow of solid particles in plasmas and other phenomena are considered. The book is intended for professionals involved in the theoretical study of low-temperature plasmas and the design of plasma torches, and will be useful for advanced students in related areas.