Numerical Approximation of Self-Consistent Vlasov Models for Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Phenomena

We present a new numerical method to solve the Vlasov-Darwin and Vlasov-Poisswell systems which are approximations of the Vlasov-Maxwell equation in the asymptotic limit of the infinite speed of light. These systems model low-frequency electromagnetic phenomena in plasmas, and thus “light waves” are somewhat supressed, which in turn allows the numerical discretization to dispense with the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy condition on the time step. We construct a numerical scheme based on semi-Lagrangian methods and time splitting techniques. We develop a four-dimensional phase space algorithm for the distribution function while the electromagnetic field is solved on a two-dimensional Cartesian grid. Finally, we present two nontrivial test cases: (a) the wave Landau damping and (b) the electromagnetic beam-plasma instability. For these cases our numerical scheme works very well and is in agreement with analytic kinetic theory.