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K. Hallatschek

Publications and source records attributed to K. Hallatschek.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Time-Domain Benchmark Solutions for Bernstein Waves

In previous work, we introduced a semi-analytical method for computing time-domain solutions of linearized Vlasov problems. Rather than representing the plasma response as a sum of residues associated with Landau poles, the method constructs a regularized frequency-domain response spectrum that is subsequently inverted numerically. Explicit applications have so far been limited to unmagnetized plasmas. In this work, we extend the construction to plasmas with a uniform background magnetic field and a Maxwellian equilibrium distribution. We apply the resulting formulation to the electrostatic ion-Bernstein density response of a plasma with kinetic ions and adiabatic electrons, and provide error estimates for truncating both the spectral integration domain and the cyclotron-harmonic expansion. The solution serves as a time-domain reference for damped finite-$k_\parallel$ regimes, in which dispersion-relation roots alone are insufficient for pointwise-in-time verification of simulation codes. Finally, we indicate how the framework can be extended to fully electromagnetic problems.

physics.plasm-ph

Towards hybrid kinetic/drift-kinetic simulations in 6d Vlasov codes

Simulating fully kinetic, two-species plasmas is computationally challenging due to the stiff multiscale dynamics of electrons and ions. While enforcing a quasi-neutral time evolution mitigates this stiffness, it requires an electric potential that consistently maintains this constraint. In this work, we present an implicit approach to determine this electric field self-consistently within the semi-Lagrangian, fully kinetic BSL6D code. We employ a hybrid two-species model that couples kinetic ions with massless, drift-kinetic electrons, enabling an implicit treatment of the latter. Notably, the model captures the generation of ion-scale zonal flows. Beyond the algorithmic description, we provide a proof of second-order time-splitting error convergence under specific regularity assumptions. A key feature of our approach is an error-balancing mechanism: we demonstrate that the field solver achieves the required accuracy of the electric field by automatically adjusting the error of certain moments of the distribution function. Furthermore, we provide a comprehensive analysis of semi-Lagrangian interpolation errors to ensure robustness against the steep density and temperature gradients characteristic of tokamak edge plasmas.

physics.plasm-ph

A New Approach to Compute Linear Landau Damping

We present a semi-analytical method for calculating exact time-domain solutions to linear Landau-damping problems. Unlike traditional residue-based approaches, our framework avoids the need to compute complex zeros of the dielectric function. We illustrate the method for an electrostatic, unmagnetized plasma with kinetic ions and adiabatic electrons by deriving the response of both the ion density and the ion distribution function to an initial density perturbation. We further show that the construction can be formally extended to linear Vlasov-Maxwell problems with a uniform background magnetic field and a Maxwellian equilibrium distribution.

physics.plasm-ph

Transport control by coherent zonal flows in the core/edge transitional regime

3D Braginskii turbulence simulations show that the energy flux in the core/edge transition region of a tokamak is strongly modulated - locally and on average - by radially propagating, nearly coherent sinusoidal or solitary zonal flows. The flows are geodesic acoustic modes (GAM), which are primarily driven by the Stringer-Winsor term. The flow amplitude together with the average anomalous transport sensitively depend on the GAM frequency and on the magnetic curvature acting on the flows, which could be influenced in a real tokamak, e.g., by shaping the plasma cross section. The local modulation of the turbulence by the flows and the excitation of the flows are due to wave-kinetic effects, which have been studied for the first time in a turbulence simulation.

physics.plasm-ph

Condensation of microturbulence-generated shear flows into global modes

In full flux-surface computer studies of tokamak edge turbulence, a spectrum of shear flows is found to control the turbulence level and not just the conventional (0,0)-mode flows. Flux tube domains too small for the large poloidal scale lengths of the continuous spectrum tend to overestimate the flows, and thus underestimate the transport. It is shown analytically and numerically that under certain conditions dominant (0,0)-mode flows independent of the domain size develop, essentially through Bose-Einstein condensation of the shear flows.

physics.plasm-ph