Hybrid PIC-DSMC simulation of a Hall thruster plume on unstructured grids Original Research Article

AQUILA, a hybrid PIC-DSMC Hall thruster plume simulation on unstructured grids, has been developed to work within the Air Forceʹs COLISEUM framework. The importance of the effect of a background neutral density is investigated in terms of charge exchange wing formation, non-neutral regions of the plume, and foreign material emitted by the thruster reaching behind a shadow shield.