Explicit High-Order Gauge-Independent Symplectic Algorithms for Relativistic Charged Particle Dynamics

Symplectic schemes are powerful methods for numerically integrating Hamiltonian systems, and their long-term accuracy and fidelity have been proved both theoretically and numerically. However direct applications of standard symplectic schemes to relativistic charged particle dynamics result in implicit and electromagnetic gauge-dependent algorithms. In the present study, we develop explicit high-order gauge-independent noncanonical symplectic algorithms for relativistic charged particle dynamics using a Hamiltonian splitting method in the 8D phase space. It also shown that the developed algorithms can be derived as variational integrators by appropriately discretizing the action of the dynamics. Numerical examples are presented to verify the excellent long-term behavior of the algorithms.Comment: 8 figure

Structure-preserving geometric particle-in-cell algorithm suppresses finite-grid instability -- Comment on "Finite grid instability and spectral fidelity of the electrostatic Particle-In-Cell algorithm'' by Huang et al

A recent paper by Huang et al. [Computer Physics Communications 207, 123 (2016)] thoroughly analyzed the Finite Grid Instability(FGI) and spectral fidelity of standard Particle-In-Cell (PIC) methods. Numerical experiments were carried out to demonstrate the FGIs for two PIC methods, the energy-conserving algorithm and the momentum-conserving algorithm. The paper also suggested that similar numerical experiments should be performed to test the newly developed Structure-Preserving Geometric (SPG)-PIC algorithm. In this comment, we supply the results of the suggested numerical experiments, which show that the SPG-PIC algorithm is able to suppress the FGI

PT-symmetry entails pseudo-Hermiticity regardless of diagonalizability

We prove that in finite dimensions, a Parity-Time (PT)-symmetric Hamiltonian is necessarily pseudo-Hermitian regardless of whether it is diagonalizable or not. This result is different from Mostafazadeh's, which requires the Hamiltonian to be diagonalizable. PT-symmetry breaking often occurs at exceptional points where the Hamiltonian is not diagonalizable. Our result implies that PT-symmetry breaking is equivalent to the onset of instabilities of pseudo-Hermitian systems, which was systematically studied by Krein et al. in 1950s. In particular, we show that the mechanism of PT-symmetry breaking is the resonance between eigenmodes with different Krein signatures.Comment: 11pages, 1 figure. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1801.0167

Structure-Preserving Geometric Particle-in-Cell Methods for Vlasov-Maxwell Systems

Recent development of structure-preserving geometric particle-in-cell (PIC) algorithms for Vlasov-Maxwell systems is summarized. With the arriving of 100 petaflop and exaflop computing power, it is now possible to carry out direct simulations of multi-scale plasma dynamics based on first-principles. However, standard algorithms currently adopted by the plasma physics community do not possess the long-term accuracy and fidelity required in these large-scale simulations. This is because conventional simulation algorithms are based on numerically solving the underpinning differential (or integro-differential) equations, and the algorithms used in general do not preserve the geometric and physical structures of the systems, such as the local energy-momentum conservation law, the symplectic structure, and the gauge symmetry. As a consequence, numerical errors accumulate coherently with time and long-term simulation results are not reliable. To overcome this difficulty and to hardness the power of exascale computers, a new generation of structure-preserving geometric PIC algorithms have been developed. This new generation of algorithms utilizes modern mathematical techniques, such as discrete manifolds, interpolating differential forms, and non-canonical symplectic integrators, to ensure gauge symmetry, space-time symmetry and the conservation of charge, energy-momentum, and the symplectic structure. These highly desired properties are difficult to achieve using the conventional PIC algorithms. In addition to summarizing the recent development and demonstrating practical implementations, several new results are also presented, including a structure-preserving geometric relativistic PIC algorithm, the proof of the correspondence between discrete gauge symmetry and discrete charge conservation law, and a reformulation of the explicit non-canonical symplectic algorithm for the discrete ...Comment: Submitted to Plasma Science and Technolog

What breaks parity-time-symmetry? -- pseudo-Hermiticity and resonance between positive- and negative-action modes

It is generally believed that Parity-Time (PT)-symmetry breaking occurs when eigenvalues or both eigenvalues and eigenvectors coincide. However, we show that this well-accepted picture of PT-symmetry breaking is incorrect. Instead, we demonstrate that the physical mechanism of PT-symmetry breaking is the resonance between positive- and negative-action modes. It is proved that PT-symmetry breaking occurs when and only when this resonance condition is satisfied, and this mechanism applies to all known PT-symmetry breakings observed in different branches of physics. The result is achieved by proving a remarkable fact that in finite dimensions, a PT-symmetric Hamiltonian is necessarily pseudo-Hermitian, regardless whether it is diagonalizable or not.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure

Field theory and structure-preserving geometric particle-in-cell algorithm for drift wave instability and turbulence

A field theory and the associated structure-preserving geometric Particle-In-Cell (PIC) algorithm are developed to study low frequency electrostatic perturbations with fully kinetic ions and adiabatic electrons in magnetized plasmas. The algorithm is constructed by geometrically discretizing the field theory using discrete exterior calculus, high-order Whitney interpolation forms, and non-canonical Hamiltonian splitting method. The discretization preserves the non-canonical symplectic structure of the particle-field system, as well as the electromagnetic gauge symmetry. As a result, the algorithm is charge-conserving and possesses long-term conservation properties. Because drift wave turbulence and anomalous transport intrinsically involve multi time-scales, simulation studies using fully kinetic particle demand algorithms with long-term accuracy and fidelity. The structure-preserving geometric PIC algorithm developed adequately servers this purpose. The algorithm has been implemented in the \textsl{SymPIC} code, tested and benchmarked using the examples of ion Bernstein waves and drift waves. We apply the algorithm to study the Ion Temperature Gradient (ITG) instability and turbulence in a 2D slab geometry. Simulation results show that at the early stage of the turbulence, the energy diffusion is between the Bohm scaling and gyro-Bohm scaling. At later time, the observed diffusion is closer to the gyro-Bohm scaling, and density blobs generated by the rupture of unstable modes are the prominent structures of the fully developed ITG turbulence

Explicit Structure-Preserving Geometric Particle-in-Cell Algorithm in Curvilinear Orthogonal Coordinate Systems and Its Applications to Whole-Device 6D Kinetic Simulations of Tokamak Physics

Explicit structure-preserving geometric Particle-in-Cell (PIC) algorithm in curvilinear orthogonal coordinate systems is developed. The work reported represents a further development of the structure-preserving geometric PIC algorithm [1-12], achieving the goal of practical applications in magnetic fusion research. The algorithm is constructed by discretizing the field theory for the system of charged particles and electromagnetic field using Whitney forms, discrete exterior calculus, and explicit non-canonical symplectic integration. In addition to the truncated infinitely dimensional symplectic structure, the algorithm preserves exactly many important physical symmetries and conservation laws, such as local energy conservation, gauge symmetry and the corresponding local charge conservation. As a result, the algorithm possesses the long-term accuracy and fidelity required for first-principles-based simulations of the multiscale tokamak physics. The algorithm has been implemented in the SymPIC code, which is designed for high-efficiency massively-parallel PIC simulations in modern clusters. The code has been applied to carry out whole-device 6D kinetic simulation studies of tokamak physics. A self-consistent kinetic steady state for fusion plasma in the tokamak geometry is numerically found with a predominately diagonal and anisotropic pressure tensor. The state also admits a steady-state sub-sonic ion flow in the range of 10 km/s, agreeing with experimental observations [13, 14] and analytical calculations [15, 16]. Kinetic ballooning instability in the self-consistent kinetic steady state is simulated. It shows that high-n ballooning modes have larger growth rates than low-n global modes, and in the nonlinear phase the modes saturate approximately in 5 ion transit times at ..

Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is the result of parity-time symmetry breaking

Parity-Time (PT)-symmetry is being actively investigated as a fundamental property of observables in quantum physics. We show that the governing equations of the classical two-fluid interaction and the incompressible fluid system are PT-symmetric, and the well-known Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is the result of spontaneous PT-symmetry breaking. It is expected that all classical conservative systems governed by Newton's law admit PT-symmetry, and the spontaneous breaking thereof is a generic mechanism for classical instabilities. Discovering the PT-symmetry of systems in fluid dynamics and plasma physics and identifying the PT-symmetry breaking responsible for instabilities enable new techniques to classical physics and enrich the physics of PT-symmetry.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur

Slow manifolds of classical Pauli particle enable structure-preserving geometric algorithms for guiding center dynamics

Since variational symplectic integrators for the guiding center was proposed [1,2], structure-preserving geometric algorithms have become an active research field in plasma physics. We found that the slow manifolds of the classical Pauli particle enable a family of structure-preserving geometric algorithms for guiding center dynamics with long-term stability and accuracy. This discovery overcomes the difficulty associated with the unstable parasitic modes for variational symplectic integrators when applied to the degenerate guiding center Lagrangian. It is a pleasant surprise that Pauli's Hamiltonian for electrons, which predated the Dirac equation and marks the beginning of particle physics, reappears in classical physics as an effective algorithm for solving an important plasma physics problem. This technique is applicable to other degenerate Lagrangians reduced from regular Lagrangians

Simulations of relativistic-quantum plasmas using real-time lattice scalar QED

Real-time lattice quantum electrodynamics (QED) provides a unique tool for simulating plasmas in the strong-field regime, where collective plasma scales are not well-separated from relativistic-quantum scales. As a toy model, we study scalar QED, which describes self-consistent interactions between charged bosons and electromagnetic fields. To solve this model on a computer, we first discretize the scalar-QED action on a lattice, in a way that respects geometric structures of exterior calculus and U(1)-gauge symmetry. The lattice scalar QED can then be solved, in the classical-statistics regime, by advancing an ensemble of statistically equivalent initial conditions in time, using classical field equations obtained by extremizing the discrete action. To demonstrate the capability of our numerical scheme, we apply it to two example problems. The first example is the propagation of linear waves, where we recover analytic wave dispersion relations using numerical spectrum. The second example is an intense laser interacting with a 1D plasma slab, where we demonstrate natural transition from wakefield acceleration to pair production when the wave amplitude exceeds the Schwinger threshold. Our real-time lattice scheme is fully explicit and respects local conservation laws, making it reliable for long-time dynamics. The algorithm is readily parallelized using domain decomposition, and the ensemble may be computed using quantum parallelism in the future.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure