arXiv subjects

Hong Qin

Publications and source records attributed to Hong Qin.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Explicit symplectic algorithms based on generating functions for charged particle dynamics

Dynamics of a charged particle in the canonical coordinates is a Hamiltonian system, and the well-known symplectic algorithm has been regarded as the de facto method for numerical integration of Hamiltonian systems due to its long-term accuracy and fidelity. For long-term simulations with high efficiency, explicit symplectic algorithms are desirable. However, it is widely accepted that explicit symplectic algorithms are only available for sum-separable Hamiltonians, and that this restriction severely limits the application of explicit symplectic algorithms to charged particle dynamics. To overcome this difficulty, we combine the familiar sum-split method and a generating function method to construct second and third order explicit symplectic algorithms for dynamics of charged particle. The generating function method is designed to generate explicit symplectic algorithms for product-separable Hamiltonian with form of $H(\mathbf{p},\mathbf{q})=\mathbf{p}_{i}f(\mathbf{q})$ or $H(\mathbf{p},\mathbf{q})=\mathbf{q}_{i}f(\mathbf{p})$. Applied to the simulations of charged particle dynamics, the explicit symplectic algorithms based on generating functions demonstrate superiorities in conservation and efficiency.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2016

Explicit high-order non-canonical symplectic particle-in-cell algorithms for Vlasov-Maxwell systems

Explicit high-order non-canonical symplectic particle-in-cell algorithms for classical particle-field systems governed by the Vlasov-Maxwell equations are developed. The algorithm conserves a discrete non-canonical symplectic structure derived from the Lagrangian of the particle-field system, which is naturally discrete in particles. The electromagnetic field is spatially-discretized using the method of discrete exterior calculus with high-order interpolating differential forms for a cubic grid. The resulting time-domain Lagrangian assumes a non-canonical symplectic structure. It is also gauge invariant and conserves charge. The system is then solved using a splitting method discovered by He et al., which produces five exactly-soluable sub-systems, and high-order structure- preserving algorithms follow by combinations. The explicit, high-order, and conservative nature of the algorithms is especially suitable for long-term simulations of particle-field systems with extremely large number of degrees of freedom on massively parallel supercomputers. The algorithms have been tested and verified by the two physics problems, i.e., the nonlinear Landau damping and the electron Bernstein wave.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2016

Effective action approach to wave propagation in scalar QED plasmas

A relativistic quantum field theory with nontrivial background fields is developed and applied to study waves in plasmas. The effective action of the electromagnetic 4-potential is calculated ab initio from the standard action of scalar QED using path integrals. The resultant effective action is gauge invariant and contains nonlocal interactions, from which gauge bosons acquire masses without breaking the local gauge symmetry. To demonstrate how the general theory can be applied, we study a cold unmagnetized plasma and a cold uniformly magnetized plasma. Using these two examples, we show that all linear waves well-known in classical plasma physics can be recovered from relativistic quantum results when taking the classical limit. In the opposite limit, classical wave dispersion relations are modified substantially. In unmagnetized plasmas, longitudinal waves propagate with nonzero group velocities even when plasmas are cold. In magnetized plasmas, anharmonically spaced Bernstein waves persist even when plasmas are cold. These waves account for cyclotron absorption features observed in spectra of X-ray pulsars. Moreover, cutoff frequencies of the two non-degenerate electromagnetic waves are redshifted by different amounts. These corrections need to be taken into account in order to correctly interpret diagnostic results in laser plasma experiments.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2016

On the inward drift of runaway electrons during the plateau phase of runaway current

The well observed inward drift of current carrying runaway electrons during runaway plateau regime after disruption is studied by considering the phase space dynamic of runaways in a large aspect ratio toroidal system. We consider the case where the toroidal field is unperturbed and the toroidal symmetry of the system is preserved. The balance between the change in canonical angular momentum and the input of mechanical angular momentum in such system requires runaways to drift horizontally in configuration space for any given change in momentum space. The dynamic of this drift can be obtained by taking the variation of canonical angular momentum. It is then found that runaway electrons will always drift inward as long as they are decelerating. This drift motion is essentially non-linear, since the current is carried by runaways themselves, and any runaway drift relative to the magnetic axis will cause further displacement of the axis itself. A simplified analytical model is constructed to describe such inward drift both in ideal wall case and no wall case, and the runaway current center displacement as a function of parallel momentum variation is obtained. The time scale of such displacement is estimated by considering effective radiation drag, which shows reasonable agreement with observed displacement time scale. This indicates that the phase space dynamic studied here plays a major role in the horizontal displacement of runaway electrons during plateau regime.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2016

Formation of current singularity in a topologically constrained plasma

Recently a variational integrator for ideal magnetohydrodynamics in Lagrangian labeling has been developed. Its built-in frozen-in equation makes it optimal for studying current sheet formation. We use this scheme to study the Hahm-Kulsrud-Taylor problem, which considers the response of a 2D plasma magnetized by a sheared field under sinusoidal boundary forcing. We obtain an equilibrium solution that preserves the magnetic topology of the initial field exactly, with a fluid mapping that is non-differentiable. Unlike previous studies that examine the current density output, we identify a singular current sheet from the fluid mapping. These results are benchmarked with a constrained Grad-Shafranov solver. The same signature of current singularity can be found in other cases with more complex magnetic topologies.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2015

Neoclassical Pitch-Angle Scattering of Runaway Electrons

It is discovered that the tokamak field geometry generates a pitch-angle scattering effect for runaway electrons. This neoclassical pitch-angle scattering is much stronger than the collisional scattering and invalidates the gyro-center model for runaway electrons. As a result, the energy limit of runaway electrons is found to be larger than the prediction of the gyro-center model and to depend heavily on the background magnetic field.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2015

Variational Symplectic Particle-in-cell Simulation of Nonlinear Mode Conversion from Extraordinary waves to Bernstein Waves

In this paper, the nonlinear mode conversion of extraordinary waves in nonuniform magnetized plasmas is studied using the variational symplectic particle-in-cell simulation. The accuracy of the nonlinear simulation is guaranteed by the long-term accuracy and conservativeness of the symplectic algorithm. The spectra of the electromagnetic wave, the evolution of the wave reflectivity, the energy deposition profile, and the parameter-dependent properties of radio-frequency waves during the nonlinear mode conversion are investigated. It is illustrated that nonlinear effects significantly modify the physics of the radio-frequency injection in magnetized plasmas. The evolutions of the radio-frequency wave reflectivity and the energy deposition are observed, as well as the self-interaction of the Bernstein waves and mode excitations. Even for waves with small magnitude, nonlinear effects can also become important after continuous wave injections, which are common in the realistic radio-frequency wave heating and current drive experiments.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2015

Explicit non-canonical symplectic algorithms for charged particle dynamics

We study the non-canonical symplectic structure, or K-symplectic structure inherited by the charged particle dynamics. Based on the splitting technique, we construct non-canonical symplectic methods which is explicit and stable for the long-term simulation. The key point of splitting is to decompose the Hamiltonian as four parts, so that the resulting four subsystems have the same structure and can be solved exactly. This guarantees the K-symplectic preservation of the numerical methods constructed by composing the exact solutions of the subsystems. The error convergency of numerical solutions is analyzed by means of the Darboux transformation. The numerical experiment display the long-term stability and efficiency for these methods.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2015

Canonical symplectic particle-in-cell method for long-term large-scale simulations of the Vlasov-Maxwell system

Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulation is the most important numerical tool in plasma physics. However, its long-term accuracy has not been established. To overcome this difficulty, we developed a canonical symplectic PIC method for the Vlasov-Maxwell system by discretizing its canonical Poisson bracket. A fast local algorithm to solve the symplectic implicit time advance is discovered without root searching or global matrix inversion, enabling applications of the proposed method to very large-scale plasma simulations with many, e.g., $10^{9}$, degrees of freedom. The long-term accuracy and fidelity of the algorithm enables us to numerically confirm Mouhot and Villani's theory and conjecture on nonlinear Landau damping over several orders of magnitude using the PIC method, and to calculate the nonlinear evolution of the reflectivity during the mode conversion process from extraordinary waves to Bernstein waves.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2015

Hamiltonian integration methods for Vlasov-Maxwell equations

Hamiltonian integration methods for the Vlasov-Maxwell equations are developed by a Hamiltonian splitting technique. The Hamiltonian functional is split into five parts, i.e., the electrical energy, the magnetic energy, and the kinetic energy in three Cartesian components. Each of the subsystems is a Hamiltonian system with respect to the Morrison-Marsden-Weinstein Poisson bracket and can be solved exactly. Compositions of the exact solutions yield Poisson structure preserving, or Hamiltonian, integration methods for the Vlasov-Maxwell equations, which have superior long-term fidelity and accuracy.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2015

Comment on "Hamiltonian splitting for the Vlasov-Maxwell equations"

The paper [1] by Crouseilles, Einkemmer, and Faou used an incorrect Poisson bracket for the Vlasov-Maxwell equations. If the correct Poisson bracket is used, the solution of one of the subsystems cannot be computed exactly in general. As a result, one cannot construct a symplectic scheme for the Vlasov-Maxwell equations using the splitting Hamiltonian method proposed in Ref [1].

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2015

What is the fate of runaway positrons in tokamaks?

Massive runaway positrons are generated by runaway electrons in tokamaks. The fate of these positrons encodes valuable information about the runaway dynamics. The phase space dynamics of a runaway position is investigated using a Lagrangian that incorporates the tokamak geometry, loop voltage, radiation and collisional effects. It is found numerically that runaway positrons will drift out of the plasma to annihilate on the first wall, with an in-plasma annihilation possibility less than 0.1\%. The dynamics of runaway positrons provides signatures that can be observed as diagnostic tools.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2015

Field theory and weak Euler-Lagrange equation for classical particle-field systems

It is commonly believed as a fundamental principle that energy-momentum conservation of a physical system is the result of space-time symmetry. However, for classical particle-field systems, e.g., charged particles interacting through self-consistent electromagnetic or electrostatic fields, such a connection has only been cautiously suggested. It has not been formally established. The difficulty is due to the fact that the dynamics of particles and the electromagnetic fields reside on different manifolds. We show how to overcome this difficulty and establish the connection by generalizing the Euler-Lagrange equation, the central component of a field theory, to a so-called weak form. The weak Euler-Lagrange equation induces a new type of flux, called the weak Euler-Lagrange current, which enters conservation laws. Using field theory together with the weak Euler-Lagrange equation developed here, energy-momentum conservation laws that are difficult to find otherwise can be systematically derived from the underlying space-time symmetry.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2015

Spectral and structural stability properties of charged particle dynamics in coupled lattices

It has been realized in recent years that coupled focusing lattices in accelerators and storage rings have significant advantages over conventional uncoupled focusing lattices, especially for high-intensity charged particle beams. A theoretical framework and associated tools for analyzing the spectral and structural stability properties of coupled lattices are formulated in this paper, based on the recently developed generalized Courant-Snyder theory for coupled lattices. It is shown that for periodic coupled lattices that are spectrally and structurally stable, the matrix envelope equation must admit matched solutions. Using the technique of normal form and pre-Iwasawa decomposition, a new method is developed to replace the (inefficient) shooting method for finding matched solutions for the matrix envelope equation. Stability properties of a continuously rotating quadrupole lattice are investigated. The Krein collision process for destabilization of the lattice is demonstrated.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2015

Analytical methods for describing charged particle dynamics in general focusing lattices using generalized Courant-Snyder theory

The dynamics of charged particles in general linear focusing lattices with quadrupole, skew-quadrupole, dipole, and solenoidal components, as well as torsion of the fiducial orbit and variation of beam energy is parameterized using a generalized Courant-Snyder (CS) theory, which extends the original CS theory for one degree of freedom to higher dimensions. The envelope function is generalized into an envelope matrix, and the phase advance is generalized into a 4D symplectic rotation, or an U(2) element. The 1D envelope equation, also known as the Ermakov-Milne-Pinney equation in quantum mechanics, is generalized to an envelope matrix equation in higher dimensions. Other components of the original CS theory, such as the transfer matrix, Twiss functions, and CS invariant (also known as the Lewis invariant) all have their counterparts, with remarkably similar expressions, in the generalized theory. The gauge group structure of the generalized theory is analyzed. By fixing the gauge freedom with a desired symmetry, the generalized CS parameterization assumes the form of the modified Iwasawa decomposition, whose importance in phase space optics and phase space quantum mechanics has been recently realized. This gauge fixing also symmetrizes the generalized envelope equation and express the theory using only the generalized Twiss function β.The generalized phase advance completely determines the spectral and structural stability properties of a general focusing lattice. For structural stability, the generalized CS theory enables application of the Krein-Moser theory to greatly simplify the stability analysis. The generalized CS theory provides an effective tool to study coupled dynamics and to discover more optimized lattice design in the larger parameter space of general focusing lattices.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2015

One-dimensional kinetic description of nonlinear traveling-pulse (soliton) and traveling-wave disturbances in long coasting charged particle beams

This paper makes use of a one-dimensional kinetic model to investigate the nonlinear longitudinal dynamics of a long coasting beam propagating through a perfectly conducting circular pipe with radius $r_{w}$. The average axial electric field is expressed as $\langle E_{z}\rangle=-(\partial/\partial z)\langleϕ\rangle=-e_{b}g_{0}\partialλ_{b}/\partial z-e_{b}g_{2}r_{w}^{2}\partial^{3}λ_{b}/\partial z^{3}$, where $g_{0}$ and $g_{2}$ are constant geometric factors, $λ_{b}(z,t)=\int dp_{z}F_{b}(z,p_{z},t)$ is the line density of beam particles, and $F_{b}(z,p_{z},t)$ satisfies the 1D Vlasov equation. Detailed nonlinear properties of traveling-wave and traveling-pulse (solitons) solutions with time-stationary waveform are examined for a wide range of system parameters extending from moderate-amplitudes to large-amplitude modulations of the beam charge density. Two classes of solutions for the beam distribution function are considered, corresponding to: (a) the nonlinear waterbag distribution, where $F_{b}=const.$ in a bounded region of $p_{z}$-space; and (b) nonlinear Bernstein-Green-Kruskal (BGK)-like solutions, allowing for both trapped and untrapped particle distributions to interact with the self-generated electric field $\langle E_{z}\rangle$. .

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2014

Variational integration for ideal magnetohydrodynamics with built-in advection equations

Newcomb's Lagrangian for ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) in Lagrangian labeling is discretized using discrete exterior calculus. Variational integrators for ideal MHD are derived thereafter. Besides being symplectic and momentum-preserving, the schemes inherit built-in advection equations from Newcomb's formulation, and therefore avoid solving them and the accompanying error and dissipation. We implement the method in 2D and show that numerical reconnection does not take place when singular current sheets are present. We then apply it to studying the dynamics of the ideal coalescence instability with multiple islands. The relaxed equilibrium state with embedded current sheets is obtained numerically.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2014

Asymptotic normality in the maximum entropy models on graphs with an increasing number of parameters

Maximum entropy models, motivated by applications in neuron science, are natural generalizations of the $β$-model to weighted graphs. Similar to the $β$-model, each vertex in maximum entropy models is assigned a potential parameter, and the degree sequence is the natural sufficient statistic. Hillar and Wibisono (2013) has proved the consistency of the maximum likelihood estimators. In this paper, we further establish the asymptotic normality for any finite number of the maximum likelihood estimators in the maximum entropy models with three types of edge weights, when the total number of parameters goes to infinity. Simulation studies are provided to illustrate the asymptotic results.

math.ST↗