Numerics and Plasma Computing

My research builds largely on numerical plasma simulations. We use fluid and kinetic plasma simulations to model turbulence, kinetic instabilities, magnetic reconnection, and the global evolution of plasma systems. Some of these numerical methods describe the plasma like a highly conducting fluid (magnetohydrodynamic), others treat the plasma as a collection of individual particles (particle-in-cell).
Our simulation work based on particle-in-cell simulations of turbulence has led to a number of press releases and articles:

One of my current major projects is the application of our computer code ALPS, which stands for Arbitrary Linear Plasma Solver. ALPS is a numerical solver for the full hot-plasma dispersion relation in a plasma with arbitrary background distribution functions. The numerical code determines the behaviour of kinetic plasma waves including relativistic effects. More details can be found on http://www.alps.space.

Our solver NHDS (The New Hampshire Dispersion Relation Solver) calculates the linear hot-plasma dispersion relation in a plasma consisting of drifting bi-Maxwellians. The code is publicly available at https://github.com/danielver02/NHDS, and the code paper can be found here.
NHDS has been used in many studies to compare predictions from linear theory with spacecraft observations and simulations. One prominent example of this work has been featured in the following media articles:

HolmMHD is a versatile numerical code that solves the nonlinear set of equations of isotropic, polytropic, ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) on a Cartesian grid in three dimensions. It uses a hybrid spatial discretisation based on a fourth-order central scheme and the Rusanov scheme, which are mixed through a min-mod flux limiter.
The code performs well on a range of benchmark problems such as a spherical hydro-blast wave, the Orszag-Tang vortex, AlfvΓ©n waves in one and three dimensions, the MHD aligned rotator, an isotropic three-dimensional decaying-turbulence setup, and the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (shown on the right-hand side). The code is publicly available at https://github.com/danielver02/HolmMHD, and the code paper can be found here.