Abstract
A graphical processing unit (GPU)-accelerated finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) scheme for the simulation of radio-frequency (RF) wave propagation in a dynamic, magnetized plasma is presented. This work builds on well-established FDTD techniques with the inclusion of new time advancement equations for the plasma fluid density and temperature. The resulting FDTD formulation is suitable for the simulation of the time-dependent behavior of an ionospheric plasma due to interaction with an RF wave and the excitation of plasma waves and instabilities. The stability criteria and the dependence of accuracy on the choice of simulation parameters are analyzed and found to depend on the choice of simulation grid parameters. It is demonstrated that accelerating the FDTD code using GPU technology yields significantly higher performance, with a dual-GPU implementation achieving a rate of node update almost two orders of magnitude faster than a serial implementation. Optimization techniques such as memory coalescence are demonstrated to have a significant effect on code performance. The results of numerical tests performed to validate the FDTD scheme are presented, with a good agreement achieved when the simulation results are compared to both the predictions of plasma theory and to the results of the Tech-X VORPAL 4.2.2 software that was used as a benchmark.
Highlights
S INCE the early 1990s and the explosion in interest around computational physics, the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method has become an increasingly popular and powerful technique for modeling the propagation of electromagnetic (EM) waves through a variety of media
This paper presents the formulation and implementation of a 3-D FDTD model which has been developed for use in modeling the propagation of high-power radio waves through a dynamic, magnetized, and collisional plasma, and can be used as a virtual laboratory in which this scenario can be investigated in detail
This paper describes the formulation of a 3-D FDTD scheme suitable for the simulation of RF wave propagation in a dynamic, magnetized plasma
Summary
S INCE the early 1990s and the explosion in interest around computational physics, the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method has become an increasingly popular and powerful technique for modeling the propagation of electromagnetic (EM) waves through a variety of media. This paper presents the formulation and implementation of a 3-D FDTD model which has been developed for use in modeling the propagation of high-power radio waves through a dynamic, magnetized, and collisional plasma, and can be used as a virtual laboratory in which this scenario can be investigated in detail This formulation extends previously established schemes with new finite-difference equations for the variation in plasma temperature and density with time, which are incorporated into the simulation update algorithm and as such allow the investigation of nonlinear perturbations of the plasma medium. Simulation results are compared to the predictions of plasma theory and benchmarked against results provided by the VORPAL 4.2.2 software [19]
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