Particle-in-cell method for plasmas in the one-dimensional electrostatic limit

Abstract

We discuss the particle-in-cell (PIC) method, which is one of the most widely used approaches for the kinetic description of plasmas. The positions and velocities of the charged particles take continuous values in phase space, and spatial macroscopic quantities, such as the charge density and self-generated electric fields, are calculated at discrete spatial points of a grid. We discuss the computer implementation of the PIC method for one-dimensional plasmas in the electrostatic regime and discuss a desktop application (PlasmAPP), which includes the implementation of different numerical and interpolation methods and diagnostics in a graphical user interface. To illustrate its functionality, the electron-electron two-stream instability is discussed. Readers can use PlasmAPP to explore advanced numerical methods and simulate different phenomena of interest.