Gyrokinetic full-f particle-in-cell simulations on open field lines with PICLS

TL;DR

This paper introduces PICLS, a gyrokinetic full-f particle-in-cell code designed for edge plasma simulations, demonstrating its effectiveness in modeling edge-localized modes and comparing favorably with existing methods.

Contribution

Development of PICLS, a new gyrokinetic full-f PIC code for edge plasma simulation, addressing challenges of steep gradients and large fluctuations in the SOL region.

Findings

PICLS accurately models edge-localized modes in the SOL.

Results agree well with previous gyrokinetic continuum and kinetic PIC simulations.

Demonstrates viability of full-f PIC approach for edge plasma studies.

Abstract

While in recent years, gyrokinetic simulations have become the workhorse for theoretical turbulence and transport studies in the plasma core, their application to the edge and scrape-off layer (SOL) region presents significant challenges. In particular, steep density and temperature gradients as well as large fluctuation amplitudes call for a "full-f" treatment. To specifically study problems in the SOL region, the gyrokinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) code PICLS has been developed. The code is based on an electrostatic full-f model with linearised field equations and uses kinetic electrons. Here, the well-studied parallel transport problem during an edge-localized mode (ELM) in the SOL shall be investigated for one spatial dimension. The results are compared to previous gyrokinetic continuum and fully kinetic PIC simulations and show good agreement.