A Gyrokinetic Simulation Model for Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fluctuations in Magnetized Plasmas

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new gyrokinetic simulation model for low-frequency electromagnetic fluctuations in magnetized plasmas, capturing kinetic effects efficiently and validated through benchmark simulations of kinetic Alfven waves.

Contribution

The novel GK-E&B model combines electromagnetic field equations with momentum balance, improving computational efficiency while including key kinetic physics.

Findings

Accurately simulates kinetic Alfven waves.

Agrees with analytical theories in linear and nonlinear regimes.

Enhances simulation efficiency for low-frequency plasma fluctuations.

Abstract

We present a new model for simulating the electromagnetic fluctuations with frequencies much lower than the ion cyclotron frequency in plasmas confined in general magnetic configurations. This novel model (termed as GK-E&B) employs nonlinear gyrokinetic equations formulated in terms of electromagnetic fields along with momentum balance equations for solving fields. It, thus, not only includes kinetic effects, such as wave-particle interaction and microscopic (ion Larmor radius scale) physics; but also is computationally more efficient than the conventional formulation described in terms of potentials. As a benchmark, we perform linear as well as nonlinear simulations of the kinetic Alfven wave; demonstrating physics in agreement with the analytical theories.