Stability and dispersion analysis of the finite-difference time-domain algorithms in modelling the earth??ionosphere system

An analysis of the numerical stability and dispersion properties of the latitude-longitude and geodesic finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithms in modelling the earth-ionosphere system is presented. To the best of the authors- knowledge, it is the first time the properties are analysed via rigorous theoretical derivations. Furthermore, both the analytical and experimental results are compared for the two algorithms. It is found that the geodesic FDTD algorithm has a looser stability limitation than that of the latitude-longitude FDTD algorithm. After the theoretical derivation and the numerical analysis, the global electromagnetic phenomenon was clearly exhibited using the two different algorithms, revealing the correctness of the theoretical analysis and the experiments. Additionally, the potential applications of the two algorithms are briefly proposed.