Particle model simulation

Plasma science (the study of ionized gases) is critical to the development of fusion energy (involving the fusion of nuclei), which could be an abundant and attractive energy source in the future. Early pioneers in fusion research developed a powerful method of modeling the behavior of large systems of particles, using the basic equations of motion for interacting charged and neutral particles. The particle-in-cell technique involves dividing the physical space into cells and using statistical methods within individual cells to reduce the number of particles required to model a system. Such simulations have offered insight into the behavior of plasmas in fusion devices by providing predictions of basic spectral and spatial properties of plasma turbulence that can be compared with diagnostic measurements. Researchers with Office of Science funding at University of California campuses in Los Angeles and Berkeley, as well as Stanford University, made important contributions to this work, and an early pioneer won the American Physical Society's James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics in 1977.

Scientific Impact: This technique has been used to gain many new insights into the behavior of plasmas in confinement devices. The simulations also can be used to validate the analytical treatment of highly nonlinear problems encountered in plasma turbulence such as chaotic and intermittent behavior.

Social Impact: This work contributes to efforts to develop fusion as an attractive energy source. Particle techniques also have been used successfully to study highly nonlinear and turbulent weather patterns, and in smooth particle hydrodynamics to study the dynamics of high-velocity projectiles.

Reference: "Theory of Plasma Simulation Using Finite-Size Particles," A. B. Langton and C. K. Birdsall, Physics of Fluids 13, 2115 (1970)

URL: http://exodus.physics.ucla.edu/dauger/decades.htm

Technical Contact: Walt Sadowski, Research Division, 301-903-4678

Press Contact: Jeff Sherwood, DOE Office of Public Affairs, 202-586-5806

SC-Funding Office: Office of Fusion Energy Sciences