arXiv subjects

Olindo Zanotti

Publications and source records attributed to Olindo Zanotti.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

An Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian solver for relativistic detonation waves

In this paper we study the dynamics of relativistic detonation waves theoretically and numerically. The reaction is physically accounted for by an extra term in the definition of the total energy density and by an additional equation for the evolution of the mass fraction of the reactant, while leaving formally unmodified the equations of mass and energy-momentum conservation. In this way, the Rankine-Hugoniot relations maintain the same formal structure of the inert version. For the numerical solution we use a second order finite volume ALE scheme with TVD reconstruction, where the mesh velocity is chosen equal to the shock speed. We also adopt a locally implicit algorithm for the treatment of potentially stiff reaction source terms that arise in the equation of the reactant. We furthermore propose a particularly efficient algorithm for the conversion from the conserved to the primitive variables, which for the relativistic Euler equations is known to be nontrivial. Following this approach, we can successfully solve the Zel'dovich-von Neumann-Doering profile of a relativistsic detonation wave, up to Lorentz factors of the shock front $\gamma_S\sim 7$. Our analysis allowed us to highlight a new special relativistic effect, which has remained unnoticed so far. While in Newtonian detonations the Zel'dovich pressure jump decreases monotonically with the mass flux through the shock front, in the relativistic case it shows a minimum and then rises monotonically as a function of the mass flux. This may have interesting physical implications on the amount of energy that can be extracted from a relativistic detonation wave.

math.NA↗

arXiv2026

A semi-implicit two dimensional solver for a covariant formulation of the shallow water equations

In this paper we combine a flexible covariant formulation of the shallow water equations with the semi-implicit numerical scheme developed over the years by Casulli and collaborators. After adopting an orthogonal, but non-orthonormal, coordinate basis on two dimensional manifolds, and by writing the divergence of symmetric tensors in a way that avoids the introduction of Christoffel symbols, the shallow water equations preserve a very close resemblance to the usual one expressed in Cartesian coordinates. In this way, a stable semi-implicit scheme can be derived by using an implicit discretization for the gradient of surface elevation in the momentum equations and for the velocity in the continuity equation, with stability properties that are independent of the celerity. We have tested the new method over a variety of challenging benchmarks, including, among the others, the smooth wave propagation over a water globe and the deformation of an artery branch. Two appealing additional features make the method particularly powerful with respect to oceanographic applications: firstly, thanks to the wetting and drying ability of our semi-implicit approach, no pathological behaviors occur at the poles; secondly, the scheme is naturally well-balanced, and it is able to preserve perfect stationarity, up to machined precision, of the entire ocean configuration of the earth.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

High order numerical discretizations of the Einstein-Euler equations in the Generalized Harmonic formulation

We propose two new alternative numerical schemes to solve the coupled Einstein-Euler equations in the Generalized Harmonic formulation. The first one is a finite difference (FD) Central Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory (CWENO) scheme on a traditional Cartesian mesh, while the second one is an ADER (Arbitrary high order Derivatives) discontinuous Galerkin (DG) scheme on 2D unstructured polygonal meshes. The latter, in particular, represents a preliminary step in view of a full 3D numerical relativity calculation on moving meshes. Both schemes are equipped with a well-balancing (WB) property, which allows to preserve the equilibrium of a priori known stationary solutions exactly at the discrete level. We validate our numerical approaches by successfully reproducing standard vacuum test cases, such as the robust stability, the linearized wave, and the gauge wave tests, as well as achieving long-term stable evolutions of stationary black holes, including Kerr black holes with extreme spin. Concerning the coupling with matter, modeled by the relativistic Euler equations, we perform some special relativistic Riemann problems, a classical test of spherical accretion onto a Schwarzschild black hole, as well as an evolution of a perturbed non-rotating neutron star, demonstrating the capability of our schemes to operate also on the full Einstein-Euler system. Altogether, these results provide a solid foundation for addressing more complex and challenging simulations of astrophysical sources through DG schemes on unstructured 3D meshes.

math.NA↗

arXiv2024

Variational derivation and compatible discretizations of the Maxwell-GLM system

We present a novel variational derivation of the Maxwell-GLM system, which augments the original vacuum Maxwell equations via a generalized Lagrangian multiplier approach (GLM) by adding two supplementary acoustic subsystems and which was originally introduced by Munz et al. for purely numerical purposes in order to treat the divergence constraints of the magnetic and the electric field in the vacuum Maxwell equations within general-purpose and non-structure-preserving numerical schemes for hyperbolic PDE. Among the many mathematically interesting features of the model are: i) its symmetric hyperbolicity, ii) the extra conservation law for the total energy density and, most importantly, iii) the very peculiar combination of the basic differential operators, since both, curl-curl and div-grad combinations are mixed within this kind of system. A similar mixture of Maxwell-type and acoustic-type subsystems has recently been also forwarded by Buchman et al. in the context of a reformulation of the Einstein field equations of general relativity in terms of tetrads. This motivates our interest in this class of PDE, since the system is by itself very interesting from a mathematical point of view and can therefore serve as useful prototype system for the development of new structure-preserving numerical methods. Up to now, to the best of our knowledge, there exists neither a rigorous variational derivation of this class of hyperbolic PDE systems, nor do exactly energy-conserving and asymptotic-preserving schemes exist for them. The objectives of this paper are to derive the Maxwell-GLM system from an underlying variational principle, show its consistency with Hamiltonian mechanics and special relativity, extend it to the general nonlinear case and to develop new exactly energy-conserving and asymptotic-preserving finite volume schemes for its discretization.

math.NA↗

arXiv2024

Well-balanced high order finite difference WENO schemes for a first-order Z4 formulation of the Einstein field equations

In this work we aim at developing a new class of high order accurate well-balanced finite difference (FD) Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory (WENO) methods for numerical general relativity, which can be applied to any first-order reduction of the Einstein field equations, even if non-conservative terms are present. We choose the first-order non-conservative Z4 formulation of the Einstein equations, which has a built-in cleaning procedure that accounts for the Einstein constraints and that has already shown its ability in keeping stationary solutions stable over long timescales. Upon the introduction of auxiliary variables, the vacuum Einstein equations in first order form constitute a ...

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

High-order discontinuous Galerkin schemes with subcell finite volume limiter and adaptive mesh refinement for a monolithic first-order BSSNOK formulation of the Einstein-Euler equations

We propose a high order discontinuous Galerkin (DG) scheme with subcell finite volume (FV) limiter to solve a monolithic first--order hyperbolic BSSNOK formulation of the coupled Einstein--Euler equations. The numerical scheme runs with adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) in three space dimensions, is endowed with time-accurate local time stepping (LTS) and is able to deal with both conservative and non-conservative hyperbolic systems. The system of governing partial differential equations was shown to be strongly hyperbolic and is solved in a monolithic fashion with one numerical framework that can be simultaneously applied to both the conservative matter subsystem as well as the non-conservative subsystem for the spacetime. Since high order unlimited DG schemes are well-known to produce spurious oscillations in the presence of discontinuities and singularities, our subcell finite volume limiter is crucial for the robust discretization of shock waves arising in the matter as well as for the stable treatment of puncture black holes. We test the new method on a set of classical test problems of numerical general relativity, showing good agreement with available exact or numerical reference solutions. In particular, we perform the first long term evolution of the inspiralling merger of two puncture black holes with a high order ADER-DG scheme.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

A monolithic first--order BSSNOK formulation of the Einstein--Euler equations and its solution with path-conservative finite difference CWENO schemes

We present a new, monolithic first--order (both in time and space) BSSNOK formulation of the coupled Einstein--Euler equations. The entire system of hyperbolic PDEs is solved in a completely unified manner via one single numerical scheme applied to both the conservative sector of the matter part and to the first--order strictly non--conservative sector of the spacetime evolution. The coupling between matter and space-time is achieved via algebraic source terms. The numerical scheme used for the solution of the new monolithic first order formulation is a path-conservative central WENO (CWENO) finite difference scheme, with suitable insertions to account for the presence of the non--conservative terms. By solving several crucial tests of numerical general relativity, including a stable neutron star, Riemann problems in relativistic matter with shock waves and the stable long-time evolution of single and binary puncture black holes up and beyond the binary merger, we show that our new CWENO scheme, introduced two decades ago for the compressible Euler equations of gas dynamics, can be successfully applied also to numerical general relativity, solving all equations at the same time with one single numerical method. In the future the new monolithic approach proposed in this paper may become an attractive alternative to traditional methods that couple central finite difference schemes with Kreiss-Oliger dissipation for the space-time part with totally different TVD schemes for the matter evolution and which are currently the state of the art in the field.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

A well-balanced discontinuous Galerkin method for the first--order Z4 formulation of the Einstein--Euler system

In this paper we develop a new well-balanced discontinuous Galerkin (DG) finite element scheme with subcell finite volume (FV) limiter for the numerical solution of the Einstein--Euler equations of general relativity based on a first order hyperbolic reformulation of the Z4 formalism. The first order Z4 system, which is composed of 59 equations, is analyzed and proven to be strongly hyperbolic for a general metric. The well-balancing is achieved for arbitrary but a priori known equilibria by subtracting a discrete version of the equilibrium solution from the discretized time-dependent PDE system. Special care has also been taken in the design of the numerical viscosity so that the well-balancing property is achieved. As for the treatment of low density matter, e.g. when simulating massive compact objects like neutron stars surrounded by vacuum, we have introduced a new filter in the conversion from the conserved to the primitive variables, preventing superluminal velocities when the density drops below a certain threshold, and being potentially also very useful for the numerical investigation of highly rarefied relativistic astrophysical flows. Thanks to these improvements, all standard tests of numerical relativity are successfully reproduced, reaching three achievements: (i) we are able to obtain stable long term simulations of stationary black holes, including Kerr black holes with extreme spin, which after an initial perturbation return perfectly back to the equilibrium solution up to machine precision; (ii) a (standard) TOV star under perturbation is evolved in pure vacuum ($ρ$=$p$=0) up to t=1000 with no need to introduce any artificial atmosphere around the star; and, (iii) we solve the head on collision of two punctures black holes, that was previously considered un--tractable within the Z4 formalism.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Space-time adaptive ADER-DG schemes for dissipative flows: compressible Navier-Stokes and resistive MHD equations

This paper presents an arbitrary h.o. accurate ADER DG method on space-time adaptive meshes (AMR) for the solution of two important families of non-linear time dependent PDE for compr. dissipative flows: the compr. Navier-Stokes equations and the equations of visc. and res. MHD in 2 and 3 space-dimensions. The work continues a recent series of papers concerning the development and application of a proper a posteriori subcell FV limiting procedure suitable for DG methods. It is a well known fact that a major weakness of h.o. DG methods lies in the difficulty of limiting discontinuous solutions, which generate spurious oscillations, namely the so-called 'Gibbs phenomenon'. In the present work the main benefits of the MOOD paradigm, i.e. the computational robustness even in the presence of strong shocks, are preserved and the numerical diffusion is considerably reduced also for the limited cells by resorting to a proper sub-grid. An important feature of our new scheme is its ability to cure even floating point errors that may occur during a simulation, for example when taking real roots of negative numbers or after divisions by zero. We apply the whole approach for the first time to the equations of compr. gas dynamics and MHD in the presence of viscosity, thermal conductivity and magnetic resistivity, therefore extending our family of adaptive ADER-DG schemes to cases for which the numerical fluxes also depend on the gradient of the state vector. The distinguished high-resolution properties of the presented numerical scheme stands out against a wide number of non-trivial test cases both for the compr. Navier-Stokes and the viscous and resistive MHD equations. The present results show clearly that the shock-capturing capability of the news schemes are significantly enhanced within a cell-by-cell Adaptive Mesh Refinement implementation together with time accurate local time stepping (LTS).

math.NA↗

arXiv2018

ADER discontinuous Galerkin schemes for general-relativistic ideal magnetohydrodynamics

We present a new class of high-order accurate numerical algorithms for solving the equations of general-relativistic ideal magnetohydrodynamics in curved spacetimes. In this paper we assume the background spacetime to be given and static, i.e., we make use of the Cowling approximation. The governing partial differential equations are solved via a new family of fully-discrete and arbitrary high-order accurate path-conservative discontinuous Galerkin (DG) finite-element methods combined with adaptive mesh refinement and time accurate local timestepping. In order to deal with shock waves and other discontinuities, the highorder DG schemes are supplemented with a novel a-posteriori subcell finite-volume limiter, which makes the new algorithms as robust as classical second-order total-variation diminishing finite-volume methods at shocks and discontinuities, but also as accurate as unlimited high-order DG schemes in smooth regions of the flow. We show the advantages of this new approach by means of various classical two- and three-dimensional benchmark problems on fixed spacetimes. Finally, we present a performance and accuracy comparisons between Runge-Kutta DG schemes and ADER high-order finite-volume schemes, showing the higher efficiency of DG schemes.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2018

Conformal and covariant Z4 formulation of the Einstein equations: strongly hyperbolic first-order reduction and solution with discontinuous Galerkin schemes

We present a strongly hyperbolic first-order formulation of the Einstein equations based on the conformal and covariant Z4 system (CCZ4) with constraint-violation damping, which we refer to as FO-CCZ4. As CCZ4, this formulation combines the advantages of a conformal and traceless formulation, with the suppression of constraint violations given by the damping terms, but being first order in time and space, it is particularly suited for a discontinuous Galerkin (DG) implementation. The strongly hyperbolic first-order formulation has been obtained by making careful use of first and second-order ordering constraints. A proof of strong hyperbolicity is given for a selected choice of standard gauges via an analytical computation of the entire eigenstructure of the FO-CCZ4 system. The resulting governing partial differential equations system is written in non-conservative form and requires the evolution of 58 unknowns. A key feature of our formulation is that the first-order CCZ4 system decouples into a set of pure ordinary differential equations and a reduced hyperbolic system of partial differential equations that contains only linearly degenerate fields. We implement FO-CCZ4 in a high-order path-conservative arbitrary-high-order-method-using-derivatives (ADER)-DG scheme with adaptive mesh refinement and local time-stepping, supplemented with a third-order ADER-WENO subcell finite-volume limiter in order to deal with singularities arising with black holes. We validate the correctness of the formulation through a series of standard tests in vacuum, performed in one, two and three spatial dimensions, and also present preliminary results on the evolution of binary black-hole systems. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first successful three-dimensional simulations of moving punctures carried out with high-order DG schemes using a first-order formulation of the Einstein equations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

High order ADER schemes for a unified first order hyperbolic formulation of Newtonian continuum mechanics coupled with electro-dynamics

In this paper, we propose a new unified first order hyperbolic model of Newtonian continuum mechanics coupled with electro-dynamics. The model is able to describe the behavior of moving elasto-plastic dielectric solids as well as viscous and inviscid fluids in the presence of electro-magnetic fields. It is actually a very peculiar feature of the proposed PDE system that viscous fluids are treated just as a special case of elasto-plastic solids. This is achieved by introducing a strain relaxation mechanism in the evolution equations of the distortion matrix. The model also contains a hyperbolic formulation of heat conduction as well as a dissipative source term in the evolution equations for the electric field given by Ohm's law. Via formal asymptotic analysis we show that in the stiff limit, the governing first order hyperbolic PDE system with relaxation source terms tends asymptotically to the well-known viscous and resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equations. The governing PDE system is symmetric hyperbolic and satisfies the first and second principle of thermodynamics, hence it belongs to the so-called class of symmetric hyperbolic thermodynamically compatible systems (HTC). An important feature of the proposed model is that the propagation speeds of all physical processes, including dissipative processes, are finite. The model is discretized using high order accurate ADER discontinuous Galerkin (DG) finite element schemes with a posteriori subcell finite volume limiter and using high order ADER-WENO finite volume schemes. We show numerical test problems that explore a rather large parameter space of the model ranging from ideal MHD, viscous and resistive MHD over pure electro-dynamics to moving dielectric elastic solids in a magnetic field.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2015

High order ADER schemes for a unified first order hyperbolic formulation of continuum mechanics: viscous heat-conducting fluids and elastic solids

This paper is concerned with the numerical solution of the unified first order hyperbolic formulation of continuum mechanics recently proposed by Peshkov & Romenski, denoted as HPR model. In that framework, the viscous stresses are computed from the so-called distortion tensor A, which is one of the primary state variables. A very important key feature of the model is its ability to describe at the same time the behavior of inviscid and viscous compressible Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids with heat conduction, as well as the behavior of elastic and visco-plastic solids. This is achieved via a stiff source term that accounts for strain relaxation in the evolution equations of A. Also heat conduction is included via a first order hyperbolic evolution equation of the thermal impulse, from which the heat flux is computed. The governing PDE system is hyperbolic and fully consistent with the principles of thermodynamics. It is also fundamentally different from first order Maxwell-Cattaneo-type relaxation models based on extended irreversible thermodynamics. The connection between the HPR model and the classical hyperbolic-parabolic Navier-Stokes-Fourier theory is established via a formal asymptotic analysis in the stiff relaxation limit. From a numerical point of view, the governing partial differential equations are very challenging, since they form a large nonlinear hyperbolic PDE system that includes stiff source terms and non-conservative products. We apply the successful family of one-step ADER-WENO finite volume and ADER discontinuous Galerkin finite element schemes in the stiff relaxation limit, and compare the numerical results with exact or numerical reference solutions obtained for the Euler and Navier-Stokes equations. To show the universality of the model, the paper is rounded-off with an application to wave propagation in elastic solids.

math.NA↗

arXiv2015

Efficient conservative ADER schemes based on WENO reconstruction and space-time predictor in primitive variables

We present a new version of conservative ADER-WENO finite volume schemes, in which both the high order spatial reconstruction as well as the time evolution of the reconstruction polynomials in the local space-time predictor stage are performed in primitive variables, rather than in conserved ones. Since the underlying finite volume scheme is still written in terms of cell averages of the conserved quantities, our new approach performs the spatial WENO reconstruction twice: the first WENO reconstruction is carried out on the known cell averages of the conservative variables. The WENO polynomials are then used at the cell centers to compute point values of the conserved variables, which are converted into point values of the primitive variables. A second WENO reconstruction is performed on the point values of the primitive variables to obtain piecewise high order reconstruction polynomials of the primitive variables. The reconstruction polynomials are subsequently evolved in time with a novel space-time finite element predictor that is directly applied to the governing PDE written in primitive form. We have verified the validity of the new approach over the classical Euler equations of gas dynamics, the special relativistic hydrodynamics (RHD) and ideal magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD) equations, as well as the Baer-Nunziato model for compressible two-phase flows. In all cases we have noticed that the new ADER schemes provide less oscillatory solutions when compared to ADER finite volume schemes based on the reconstruction in conserved variables, especially for the RMHD and the Baer-Nunziato equations. For the RHD and RMHD equations, the accuracy is improved and the CPU time is reduced by about 25%. We recommend to use this version of ADER as the standard one in the relativistic framework. The new approach can be extended to ADER-DG schemes on space-time adaptive grids.

math.NA↗

arXiv2015

Oscillations of radiation pressure supported tori near black holes

We study the dynamics of radiation pressure supported tori around Schwarzschild black holes, focusing on their oscillatory response to an external perturbation. Using KORAL, a general relativistic radiation hydrodynamics code capable of modeling all radiative regimes from the optically thick to the optically thin, we monitor a sample of models at different initial temperatures and opacities, evolving them in two spatial dimensions for $\sim 165$ orbital periods. The dynamics of models with high opacity is very similar to that of purely hydrodynamics models, and it is characterized by regular oscillations which are visible also in the light curves. As the opacity is decreased, the tori quickly and violently migrate towards the gas-pressure dominated regime, collapsing towards the equatorial plane. When the spectra of the $L_2$ norm of the mass density are considered, high frequency inertial-acoustic modes of oscillations are detected (with the fundamental mode at a frequency $68 M_{\rm BH}^{-1}\,\rm Hz$), in close analogy to the phenomenology of purely hydrodynamic models. An additional mode of oscillation, at a frequency $129 M_{\rm BH}^{-1}\,\rm Hz$, is also found, which can be unambiguously attributed to the radiation. The spectra extracted from the light curves are typically more noisy, indicating that in a real observation such modes would not be easily detected.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

Solving the relativistic magnetohydrodynamics equations with ADER discontinuous Galerkin methods, a posteriori subcell limiting and adaptive mesh refinement

We present a new numerical tool for solving the special relativistic ideal MHD equations that is based on the combination of the following three key features: (i) a one-step ADER discontinuous Galerkin (DG) scheme that allows for an arbitrary order of accuracy in both space and time, (ii) an a posteriori subcell finite volume limiter that is activated to avoid spurious oscillations at discontinuities without destroying the natural subcell resolution capabilities of the DG finite element framework and finally (iii) a space-time adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) framework with time-accurate local time-stepping. The divergence-free character of the magnetic field is instead taken into account through the so-called "divergence-cleaning" approach. The convergence of the new scheme is verified up to 5th order in space and time and the results for a set of significant numerical tests including shock tube problems, the RMHD rotor and blast wave problems, as well as the Orszag-Tang vortex system are shown. We also consider a simple case of the relativistic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability with a magnetic field, emphasizing the potential of the new method for studying turbulent RMHD flows. We discuss the advantages of our new approach when the equations of relativistic MHD need to be solved with high accuracy within various astrophysical systems.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

ADER-WENO Finite Volume Schemes with Space-Time Adaptive Mesh Refinement

We present the first high order one-step ADER-WENO finite volume scheme with Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) in multiple space dimensions. High order spatial accuracy is obtained through a WENO reconstruction, while a high order one-step time discretization is achieved using a local space-time discontinuous Galerkin predictor method. Due to the one-step nature of the underlying scheme, the resulting algorithm is particularly well suited for an AMR strategy on space-time adaptive meshes, i.e.with time-accurate local time stepping. The AMR property has been implemented 'cell-by-cell', with a standard tree-type algorithm, while the scheme has been parallelized via the Message Passing Interface (MPI) paradigm. The new scheme has been tested over a wide range of examples for nonlinear systems of hyperbolic conservation laws, including the classical Euler equations of compressible gas dynamics and the equations of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). High order in space and time have been confirmed via a numerical convergence study and a detailed analysis of the computational speed-up with respect to highly refined uniform meshes is also presented. We also show test problems where the presented high order AMR scheme behaves clearly better than traditional second order AMR methods. The proposed scheme that combines for the first time high order ADER methods with space--time adaptive grids in two and three space dimensions is likely to become a useful tool in several fields of computational physics, applied mathematics and mechanics.

math.NA↗

arXiv2015

Particle acceleration in the polar cap region of an oscillating neutron star

We revisit particle acceleration in the polar cap region of a neutron star by taking into account both general relativistic effects and the presence of toroidal oscillations at the star surface. In particular, we address the question of whether toroidal oscillations at the stellar surface can affect the acceleration properties in the polar cap. We solve numerically the relativistic electrodynamics equations in the stationary regime, focusing on the computation of the Lorentz factor of a space-charge-limited electron flow accelerated in the polar cap region of a rotating and oscillating pulsar. To this extent, we adopt the correct expression of the general relativistic Goldreich-Julian charge density in the presence of toroidal oscillations. Depending on the ratio of the actual charge density of the pulsar magnetosphere to the Goldreich-Julian charge density, we distinguish two different regimes of the Lorentz factor of the particle flow, namely an oscillatory regime produced for sub-GJ current density configurations, which does not produce an efficient acceleration, and a true accelerating regime for super-GJ current density configurations. We find that star oscillations may be responsible for a significant asymmetry in the pulse profile that depends on the orientation of the oscillations with respect to the pulsar magnetic field. In particular, significant enhancements of the Lorentz factor are produced by stellar oscillations in the super-GJ current density regime.

astro-ph.HE↗