The numerical integration of the Vlasov equation possessing an invariant (Q1903794)

The Vlasov equation is a first order partial differential equation and describes the time evolution of a phase-space density \(f= f(t, x, v)\) of the electrons or ions in a plasma, where these particles move collision-free in an electrostatic or electromagnetic field; \(x,v\in \mathbb{R}^3\) denote position and velocity, respectively. Due to its importance in fusion studies, the numerical integration of this equation is a key task in computational plasma physics. The authors describe a method for this task which is based on the following well known fact: if the characteristics of the Vlasov equation possess a conserved quantity, the equation can be rewritten using this invariant as one of the independent variables, and the dimension of the equation is then effectively reduced by one, since the invariant enters only as a parameter. Numerical results are presented for a situation where the Vlasov equation is self-consistently coupled to the Poisson equation for the electrostatic potential and where, due to a corresponding symmetry assumption, a component of the canonical momentum is an invariant of the characteristics. Using the corresponding reduced system, the so-called Kelvin-Helmholtz and ion-temperature-gradient instabilities are investigted.