Semi‐Lagrangian Schemes for the Two‐Dimensional Vlasov‐Poisson System on Unstructured Meshes

Abstract

In this article, we present new high‐order, semi‐Lagrangian schemes for solving the Vlasov‐Poisson system on an unstructured four‐dimensional phase‐space mesh. The method is based on the propagation of the distribution function and its jacobian by following the characteristic curves backward. Then the distribution function is reconstructed using high‐order and few diffusive interpolation operators coming from the finite element and the computer aided geometric design (CAGD) literature. Numerical tests in plasma physics and charged‐particle beam transport are investigated.

Keywords:

• Semi‐Lagrangian schemes
• Vlasov‐Poisson
• charge particle beams
• plasma physics