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arXiv · 1401.6723

Geometric integration of the Vlasov-Maxwell system with a variational particle-in-cell scheme

Jonathan Squire·Hong Qin·William M. Tang
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Abstract

A fully variational, unstructured, electromagnetic particle-in-cell integrator is developed for integration of the Vlasov-Maxwell equations. Using the formalism of Discrete Exterior Calculus, the field solver, interpolation scheme and particle advance algorithm are derived through minimization of a single discrete field theory action. As a consequence of ensuring that the action is invariant under discrete electromagnetic gauge transformations, the integrator exactly conserves Gauss's law.

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Jonathan Squire, Hong Qin, William M. Tang. 2014-01-27. Geometric integration of the Vlasov-Maxwell system with a variational particle-in-cell scheme. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4742985

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