An improved nonlocal electron heat transport model for magnetized plasmas

TL;DR

This paper introduces an enhanced nonlocal multigroup model for magnetized plasmas, improving the accuracy of heat flux and magnetic field evolution predictions in inertial confinement fusion scenarios.

Contribution

It develops a novel nonlocal multigroup model with revised source terms and correction methods, advancing the simulation of kinetic behaviors in magnetized plasmas.

Findings

Model accurately predicts nonlocal effects in magnetized plasmas.

Numerical tests validate the improved model's effectiveness.

Enhanced predictions of heat flux and magnetic field dynamics.

Abstract

Distortions in the electron distribution function driven by intense temperature gradients critically influence the generation and evolution of heat flux and magnetic fields in plasmas under the condition of inertial confinement fusion. Describing such kinetic behaviors at large spatiotemporal scales typically requires multigroup models based on simplified Vlasov-Fokker-Planck equations. However, the accuracy of existing multigroup models remains uncertain, without a well-defined methodology for implementing nonlocal magnetic field corrections. This paper develops an improved nonlocal multigroup model for magnetized plasmas. The advancements comprise: (i) a revised source term in the diffusion equations, (ii) a Biermann-producing electric field equation incorporating the density perturbation, and (iii) a nonlocal correction method for the Nernst velocity. The numerical method for the anisotropic heat conduction equation is analyzed, and three test cases demonstrate that the model accurately predicts the key phenomena arising from nonlocal effects in magnetized plasmas.