Development of particle-in-cell codes at IHPC

Summary form only given. Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulation is a powerful and extensively used tool for plasma studies. We have recently developed our own PIC code at IHPC. In the code, we have implemented both explicit and implicit algorithms¹ for Maxwell solver. The explicit scheme is efficient for short simulations, while the implicit scheme is more superior in term of numerical noise suppression. This allows us to choose the most efficient algorithm depending on the size and nature of the problem. Other improvements to the algorithm includes a modification to the “zig-zag” scheme² for current calculation applicable to any order of particle weighting and the implementation of coulomb collisions to model collisional damping in plasmonic nanostructures, which can essentially be treated as micro plasmas.