Conservative gyrokinetic Vlasov simulation

Abstract A new conservative gyrokinetic Vlasov code is developed using a finite difference operator which conserves both the L 1 and L 2 norms. The growth of numerical oscillations is suppressed by conserving the L 2 norm, and the code is numerically stable and robust in a long time micro-turbulence simulation. In the slab ion temperature gradient driven (ITG) turbulence simulation, numerical properties of the new code are discussed, and the results are benchmarked against a conventional δf particle-in-cell (PIC) code.