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Enhanced biDimensional pIc: an electrostatic/magnetostatic particle-in-cell code for plasma based systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2019

G. Gallina Open the ORCID record for G. Gallina [Opens in a new window] ,
M. Magarotto Open the ORCID record for M. Magarotto [Opens in a new window] ,
M. Manente  and
Daniele Pavarin
G. Gallina
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z1, CA TRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver BC V6T 2A3, CA
M. Magarotto*
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Gradenigo 6/a 35131 Padova, IT Centro di Ateneo di Studi e Attività Spaziali ‘Giuseppe Colombo’ – CISAS, University of Padova, Via Venezia 15 35131 Padova, IT
M. Manente
Affiliation:
Technology for Propulsion and Innovation S.r.l., Via della Croce Rossa 112 35129 Padova, IT
Daniele Pavarin
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Gradenigo 6/a 35131 Padova, IT Centro di Ateneo di Studi e Attività Spaziali ‘Giuseppe Colombo’ – CISAS, University of Padova, Via Venezia 15 35131 Padova, IT Technology for Propulsion and Innovation S.r.l., Via della Croce Rossa 112 35129 Padova, IT
*
†Email address for correspondence: [email protected]
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Abstract

EDI (enhanced biDimensional pIc) is a two-dimensional (2-D) electrostatic/magnetostatic particle-in-cell (PIC) code designed to optimize plasma based systems. The code is built on an unstructured mesh of triangles, allowing for arbitrary geometries. The PIC core is comprised of a Boris leapfrog scheme that can manage multiple species. Particle tracking locates particles in the mesh, using a fast and simple priority-sorting algorithm. A magnetic field with an arbitrary topology can be imposed to study the magnetized particle dynamics. The electrostatic fields are then computed by solving Poisson’s equation with a a finite element method solver. The latter is an external solver that has been properly modified in order to be integrated into EDI. The major advantage of using an external solver directly incorporated into the EDI structure is its strong flexibility, in fact it is possible to couple together different physical problems (electrostatic, magnetostatic, etc.). EDI is written in C, which allows the rapid development of new modules. A big effort in the development of the code has been made in optimization of the linking efficiency, in order to minimize computational time. Finally, EDI is a multiplatform (Linux, Mac OS X) software.

Keywords

electric dischargesplasma applicationsplasma simulation
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Plasma Physics , Volume 85 , Issue 2 , April 2019 , 905850205
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

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