Numerical simulation methods for collisional and turbulent heating of plasmas

This dissertation is concerned with the development and testing of two algorithms for the numerical simulation of collisional and turbulent heating of electrons in plasmas. Both algorithms are one dimensional and include electrostatic field interactions only. The particle distribution functions are represented on a grid covering the (x,v) phase plane and are advanced along the characteristics of the kinetic equations. In the first algorithm the electric field is computed from Poisson's equation at time intervals Δt which are small compared to the electron plasma period 2π/ω/sub p/ as in conventional particle simulation methods, where ω/sub p/ = (4π e2n/sub e/m/sub e/)/sup 1/2/ n/sub e/ is the electron density, and -e and m/sub e/ are the electron charge and mass respectively. In the second algorithm particles are advanced on a long time scale by computing their linearized trajectories over time intervals Δt which are small compared to the electron trapping periods (2π/ω/sub Tk/)