A Particle Method for a Collisionless Plasma with Infinite Mass

TL;DR

This paper develops a particle method to approximate solutions of the one-dimensional Vlasov-Poisson system with infinite mass, modeling plasma phenomena like the solar wind, and analyzes the asymptotic behavior of the electrostatic field.

Contribution

A novel particle method for the Vlasov-Poisson system with infinite mass, enabling simulation without compact support and analysis of long-term electrostatic field behavior.

Findings

Method successfully approximates solutions with infinite mass

Provides insights into the asymptotic behavior of the electrostatic field

Applicable to plasma phenomena such as the solar wind

Abstract

The one-dimensional Vlasov-Poisson system is considered and a particle method is developed to approximate solutions without compact support which tend to a fixed background of charge as $| x | \to \infty$. Such a system of equations can be used to model kinetic phenomena occurring in plasma physics, such as the solar wind. The particle method is constructed, implemented, and used to determine information regarding the time asymptotics of the electrostatic field.