1,985 research outputs found
On steady-state preserving spectral methods for homogeneous Boltzmann equations
In this note, we present a general way to construct spectral methods for the
collision operator of the Boltzmann equation which preserves exactly the
Maxwellian steady-state of the system. We show that the resulting method is
able to approximate with spectral accuracy the solution uniformly in time.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Anomalous diffusion, clustering, and pinch of impurities in plasma edge turbulence
The turbulent transport of impurity particles in plasma edge turbulence is
investigated. The impurities are modeled as a passive fluid advected by the
electric and polarization drifts, while the ambient plasma turbulence is
modeled using the two-dimensional Hasegawa--Wakatani paradigm for resistive
drift-wave turbulence. The features of the turbulent transport of impurities
are investigated by numerical simulations using a novel code that applies
semi-Lagrangian pseudospectral schemes. The diffusive character of the
turbulent transport of ideal impurities is demonstrated by relative-diffusion
analysis of the evolution of impurity puffs. Additional effects appear for
inertial impurities as a consequence of compressibility. First, the density of
inertial impurities is found to correlate with the vorticity of the electric
drift velocity, that is, impurities cluster in vortices of a precise
orientation determined by the charge of the impurity particles. Second, a
radial pinch scaling linearly with the mass--charge ratio of the impurities is
discovered. Theoretical explanation for these observations is obtained by
analysis of the model equations.Comment: This article has been submitted to Physics of Plasmas. After it is
published, it will be found at http://pop.aip.org/pop
The Atomic Physics Underlying the Spectroscopic Analysis of Massive Stars and Supernovae
We have developed a radiative transfer code, CMFGEN, which allows us to model
the spectra of massive stars and supernovae. Using CMFGEN we can derive
fundamental parameters such as effective temperatures and surface gravities,
derive abundances, and place constraints on stellar wind properties. The last
of these is important since all massive stars are losing mass via a stellar
wind that is driven from the star by radiation pressure, and this mass loss can
substantially influence the spectral appearance and evolution of the star.
Recently we have extended CMFGEN to allow us to undertake time-dependent
radiative transfer calculations of supernovae. Such calculations will be used
to place constraints on the supernova progenitor, to place constraints on the
supernova explosion and nucleosynthesis, and to derive distances using a
physical approach called the "Expanding Photosphere Method". We describe the
assumptions underlying the code and the atomic processes involved. A crucial
ingredient in the code is the atomic data. For the modeling we require accurate
transition wavelengths, oscillator strengths, photoionization cross-sections,
collision strengths, autoionization rates, and charge exchange rates for
virtually all species up to, and including, cobalt. Presently, the available
atomic data varies substantially in both quantity and quality.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space
Scienc
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