Multidimensional quasineutral plasma simulation model

A multidimensional hybrid simulation model has been developed for use in studying plasma phenomena extended time and distance scales. The model makes fundamental use of the small Debye length or quasineutrality assumption. The ions are modeled by particle-in-cell techniques, while the electrons are considered a collision-dominated fluid. Some electron inertial effects are retained. The fields are calculated in the nonradiative Darwin limit. The quasineutral counterpart of Poisson's equation is obtained by first summing the electron and ion momentum equations and then taking the quasineutral limit. The resulting elliptic equation correctly includes those electrostatic potentials which occur in sheath or ambipolar phenomena while neglecting the short-range electrostatic fields which give rise to plasma oscillations. This model has been implemented in a two-dimensional code QN2. A lower hybrid drift unstable equilibrium with parameters accessible to both hybrid and full-particle simulation has been selected as a test of the code and a demonstration of the model. Initial results indicate quite good agreement between the two simulation methods in linear growth rate and wave number