Numerical study of vortices within a background vortex

TL;DR

This paper uses numerical simulations to explore vortex behavior in a 2D ideal fluid and plasma, comparing results with experiments to understand the dynamics and isomorphism between these systems.

Contribution

It demonstrates the application of contour dynamics simulations to vortex interactions within a background vortex and compares findings with experimental plasma data.

Findings

Good agreement between simulations and experiments.

Identified discrepancies in vortex dynamics.

Validated the isomorphism between fluid and plasma models.

Abstract

This study aims to exploit the analogy of vortex dynamics in a 2D ideal fluid and 2D non-neutral plasma. Numerical simulations using contour dynamics with adaptive refinement are conducted to study the dynamics of one or more vortices within a background vortex, and results are compared with experiments using magnetized non-neutral electron plasmas confined in a Penning-Malmberg trap. This comparison is based on the isomorphism between the 2D Euler equations for ideal fluid and the 2D drift-Poisson equations for non-neutral plasma, where the the fluid vorticity and stream function correspond to the plasma charge density and electric potential. Agreement and discrepancy between simulation and experiment are observed and discussed.