Neoclassical physics in full distribution function gyrokinetics

Abstract

Treatment of binary Coulomb collisions when the full gyrokinetic distribution function is evolved is discussed here. A spectrum of different collision operators is presented, differing through both the physics that can be addressed and the numerics they are based on. Eulerian-like (semi-Lagrangian) and particle in cell (PIC) (Monte-Carlo) schemes are successfully cross-compared, and a detailed confrontation to neoclassical theory is shown. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3592652]