October 27, 2004
Dr. Anil Deane
Institute for Physical Science and Technology
University of Maryland
"Numerical Methods for Space Plasma Physics"
TALK ABSTRACT: -------------- I review numerical approaches to modeling the solar wind and associated Heliospheric magnetic fields. Much of the space plasma environment can be modeled under the MHD assumption and this is the focus of the methods described in this talk, although extended MHD and kinetic effects will be mentioned. The primary constraint on MHD methods is the Div B = 0 constraint and this leads to methods that differ considerably in approach. Other capabilities such as the ability to deal with shocks, adaptive mesh refinement and the practical difficulties of large-scale simulation on parallel super-computers introduce additional challenges. One very promising approach using staggered meshes in which we have made advances will be presented.