On the role of Riemann solvers in Discontinuous Galerkin methods for magnetohydrodynamics

It has been claimed that the particular numerical flux used in Runge–Kutta Discontinuous Galerkin (RKDG) methods does not have a significant effect on the results of high-order simulations. We investigate this claim for the case of compressible ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). We also address the role of limiting in RKDG methods. For smooth nonlinear solutions, we find that the use of a more accurate Riemann solver in third-order simulations results in lower errors and more rapid convergence. However, in the corresponding fourth-order simulations we find that varying the Riemann solver has a negligible effect on the solutions. In the vicinity of discontinuities, we find that high-order RKDG methods behave in a similar manner to the second-order method due to the use of a piecewise linear limiter. Thus, for solutions dominated by discontinuities, the choice of Riemann solver in a high-order method has similar significance to that in a second-order method. Our analysis of second-order methods indicates that the choice of Riemann solver is highly significant, with the more accurate Riemann solvers having the lowest computational effort required to obtain a given accuracy. This allows the error in fourth-order simulations of a discontinuous solution to be mitigated through the use of a more accurate Riemann solver. We demonstrate the minmod limiter is unsuitable for use in a high-order RKDG method. It tends to restrict the polynomial order of the trial space, and hence the order of accuracy of the method, even when this is not needed to maintain the TVD property of the scheme. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

The Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Maxwell\u27s Equations: Application to Bodies of Revolution and Kerr-Nonlinearities

Die unstetige Galerkinmethode (UGM) wird auf die rotationssymmetrischen und Kerr- Maxwell-Gleichungen angewandt. Essentiell ist hierbei der numerische Fluss. Für die rotationssymmetrischen Maxwell-Gleichungen wird ein exakter Fluss vorgestellt und unter Ausnutzung der Symmetrie der Aufwand reduziert. Für die Kerr-Maxwell-Gleichungen führt der exakte numerische Fluss auf eine ineffiziente UGM, weswegen approximative Flüsse miteinander verglichen werden. Wir erhalten optimale Konvergenz

Ideal GLM-MHD - a new mathematical model for simulating astrophysical plasmas

Magnetic fields are ubiquitous in space. As there is strong evidence that magnetic fields play an important role in a variety of astrophysical processes, they should not be neglected recklessly. However, analytic models in astrophysical either do often not take magnetic fields into account or can do this after limiting simplifications reducing their overall predictive power. Therefore, computational astrophysics has evolved as a modern field of research using sophisticated computer simulations to gain insight into physical processes. The ideal MHD equations, which are the most often used basis for simulating magnetized plasmas, have two critical drawbacks: Firstly, they do not limit the growth of numerically caused magnetic monopoles, and, secondly, most numerical schemes built from the ideal MHD equations are not conformable with thermodynamics. In my work, at the interplay of math and physics, I developed and presented the first thermodynamically consistent model with effective inbuilt divergence cleaning. My new Galilean-invariant model is suitable for simulating magnetized plasmas under extreme conditions as those typically encountered in astrophysical scenarios. The new model is called the "ideal GLM-MHD" equations and supports nine wave solutions. The accuracy and robustness of my numerical implementation are demonstrated with a number of tests, including comparisons to other schemes available within in the multi-physics, multi-scale adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) simulation code FLASH. A possible astrophysical application scenario is discussed in detail