ASPEN: A fully kinetic, reduced-description particle-in-cell model for simulating parametric instabilities (Q1964156)

We present a fully kinetic, reduced-description particle-in-cell (RPIC) model in which deviations from quasineutrality, electron and ion kinetic effects, and nonlinear interactions between low-frequency and high-frequency parametric instabilities are modeled correctly. The model is based on a reduced description where the electromagnetic field is represented by three separate temporal envelopes in order to model parametric instabilities with low-frequency and high-frequency daughter waves. Because temporal envelope approximations are invoked, the simulation can be performed on the electron time scale instead of the time scale of the light waves. The electrons and ions are represented by discrete finite-size particles, permitting electron and ion kinetic effects to be modeled properly. The Poisson equation is utilized to ensure that space-charge effects are included. The RPIC model is fully three-dimensional and has been implemented in two dimensions on the Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI) parallel computer at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the resulting simulation code has been named ASPEN. We present test simulations of stimulated Raman scattering, stimulated Brillouin scattering, and Langmuir decay instability.