Numerical Solution of the Fokker-Planck-Landau Equation by Spectral Methods

A new approach for the accurate solution of the Fokker-Planck-Landau (FPL) equation has been presented recently in [1,2]. The method is based on a fast spectral solver for the efficent solution of the collision operator. The use of a suitable explicit Runge-Kutta solver for the time intergreation of the collision phase avoids excessive small time steps included by the stiffness of the diffusive collision operator. Here we present the details of a numerical simulation of the relaxation process in a three-dimensional Coulomb gas.

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Published 1 January 2003