PARTIALLY LINEARIZED ALGORITHMS IN GYROKINETIC PARTICLE SIMULATION

In this paper, particle simulation algorithms with time-varying weights for the gyrokinetic Vlasov-Poisson system have been developed. The primary purpose is to use them for the removal of the selected nonlinearities in the simulation of gradient-driven microturbulence so that the relative importance of the various nonlinear effects can be assessed. It is hoped that the use of these procedures will result in a better understanding of the transport mechanisms and scaling in tokamaks. Another application of these algorithms is for the improvement of the numerical properties of the simulation plasma. For instance, implementations of such algorithms (1) enable us to suppress the intrinsic numerical noise in the simulation, and also (2) make it possible to regulate the weights of the fast-moving particles and, in turn, to eliminate the associated high frequency oscillations. Examples of their application to drift-type instabilities in slab geometry are given. We note that the work reported here represents the first successful use of the weighted algorithms in particle codes for the nonlinear simulation of plasmas. © 1993 Academic Press, Inc.