Multiscale splitting method for the Boltzmann-Poisson equation: application to the dynamics of electrons (Q2247861)

A model is proposed to describe the dynamics of electrons in a plasma. (The model helps to treat some questions of neutron transport problems.) The author makes use of the simplified Boltzmann equation coupled with Poisson's equation. So, since this problem happens to be too delicate to solve, it is proposed to decouple it into two parts: a transport part and a collision part, and to solve them in different ways. Since the analytical solution for the electric potential is available, it is supposed that the convective term of the velocity derivative in the Boltzmann equation can be replaced with a diffusive term involving space derivatives. This allows to employ the semigroup theory for the transport equation and to derive the splitting schemes in the model. The transport part is solved by applying finite difference schemes. The collisional part, however, is solved by numerical integration techniques. The splitting scheme is based on the application of the Cauchy problem with functional analytic tools. The carrying out of the numerical estimates in the splitting schemes is discussed in the description and use of a positive semigroup. Then the numerical method is shown in the separation of the differential and integral parts of the Boltzmann equation. The solving procedure of the whole problem is illustrated on a numerical experiment in the one-dimensional case of neutron transport. The conclusion is that the ``transport and decomposition'' coupled model can be solved in two steps: First, to solve the flow field by the plasma model, and, second, to solve the transport of decomposition species by a transport reaction model.