A finite element Poisson solver for gyrokinetic particle simulations in a global field aligned mesh

Y. Nishimura, Z. Lin, J. L.V. Lewandowski, S. Ethier

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A new finite element Poisson solver is developed and applied to a global gyrokinetic toroidal code (GTC) which employs the field aligned mesh and thus a logically non-rectangular grid in a general geometry. Employing test cases where the analytical solutions are known, the finite element solver has been verified. The CPU time scaling versus the matrix size employing portable, extensible toolkit for scientific computation (PETSc) to solve the sparse matrix is promising. Taking the ion temperature gradient modes (ITG) as an example, the solution from the new finite element solver has been compared to the solution from the original GTC's iterative solver which is only efficient for adiabatic electrons. Linear and nonlinear simulation results from the two different forms of the gyrokinetic Poisson equation (integral form and the differential form) coincide each other. The new finite element solver enables the implementation of advanced kinetic electron models for global electromagnetic simulations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)657-671
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Computational Physics
Volume214
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2006 May 20

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Numerical Analysis
  • Modelling and Simulation
  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)
  • General Physics and Astronomy
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Computational Mathematics
  • Applied Mathematics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A finite element Poisson solver for gyrokinetic particle simulations in a global field aligned mesh'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this