Abstract
Kinetic simulations of relativistic gases and plasmas are critical for understanding diverse astrophysical and terrestrial systems, but the accurate construction of the relativistic Maxwellian, the Maxwell-JÜttner distribution, on a discrete simulation grid is challenging. Difficulties arise from the finite velocity bounds of the domain, which may not capture the entire distribution function, as well as errors introduced by projecting the function onto a discrete grid. Here, we present a novel scheme for iteratively correcting the moments of the projected distribution applicable to all grid-based discretizations of the relativistic kinetic equation. In addition, we describe how to compute the needed nonlinear quantities, such as Lorentz boost factors, in a discontinuous Galerkin scheme through a combination of numerical quadrature and weak operations. The resulting method accurately captures the distribution function and ensures that the moments match the desired values to machine precision.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Article number | E130 |
| Journal | Journal of Plasma Physics |
| Volume | 91 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 17 2025 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Condensed Matter Physics
Keywords
- astrophysical plasmas
- plasma simulation
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'A moment-conserving discontinuous Galerkin representation of the relativistic Maxwellian distribution'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Cite this
- APA
- Author
- BIBTEX
- Harvard
- Standard
- RIS
- Vancouver