Advanced Computations in Plasma Physics: W. M. Tang

PHYSICS OF PLASMAS VOLUME 9, NUMBER 5 MAY 2002
Advanced computations in plasma physicsa…

W. M. Tangb)
Princeton University, Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543
共Received 26 November 2001; accepted 14 February 2002兲
Scientific simulation in tandem with theory and experiment is an essential tool for understanding
complex plasma behavior. In this paper we review recent progress and future directions for
advanced simulations in magnetically confined plasmas with illustrative examples chosen from
magnetic confinement research areas such as microturbulence, magnetohydrodynamics, magnetic
reconnection, and others. Significant recent progress has been made in both particle and fluid
simulations of fine-scale turbulence and large-scale dynamics, giving increasingly good agreement
between experimental observations and computational modeling. This was made possible by
innovative advances in analytic and computational methods for developing reduced descriptions of
physics phenomena spanning widely disparate temporal and spatial scales together with access to
powerful new computational resources. In particular, the fusion energy science community has
made excellent progress in developing advanced codes for which computer run-time and problem
size scale well with the number of processors on massively parallel machines 共MPP’s兲. A good
example is the effective usage of the full power of multi-teraflop 共multi-trillion floating point
computations per second兲 MPP’s to produce three-dimensional, general geometry, nonlinear particle
simulations which have accelerated progress in understanding the nature of turbulence
self-regulation by zonal flows. It should be emphasized that these calculations, which typically
utilized billions of particles for thousands of time-steps, would not have been possible without
access to powerful present generation MPP computers and the associated diagnostic and
visualization capabilities. In general, results from advanced simulations provide great
encouragement for being able to include increasingly realistic dynamics to enable deeper physics
insights into plasmas in both natural and laboratory environments. The associated scientific
excitement should serve to stimulate improved cross-cutting collaborations with other fields and
also to help attract bright young talent to plasma science. © 2002 American Institute of Physics.
关DOI: 10.1063/1.1467985兴
I. INTRODUCTION cal scaling. This is made possible by the impressive advances

in high performance computing which will allow simulations
Plasmas comprise over 99% of the visible universe and of increasingly complex phenomena with greater fidelity.
are rich in complex, collective phenomena. A major compo- Viewed in this way, advanced scientific computing, in tan-
nent of research in this area is the quest for harnessing fusion dem with theory and experiment, is a powerful new tool for
energy, the power source of the sun and other stars, which discovery. This paper reviews recent progress and future di-
occurs when forms of the lightest atom, hydrogen, combine rections for advanced simulations in magnetically-confined
to make helium in a very hot 共100 million degrees centi- plasmas with illustrative examples chosen from magnetic
grade兲 ionized gas or ‘‘plasma.’’ The development of a se- confinement research areas such as microturbulence, magne-
cure and reliable energy system that is environmentally and tohydrodynamics, magnetic reconnection, and others. The in-
economically sustainable is a truly formidable scientific and tent here is not to provide a comprehensive survey of the
technological challenge facing the world in the twenty-first many significant advances in computational plasma physics
century. This demands the basic scientific understanding that but rather to emphasize the message that plasma science is
can enable the innovations to make fusion energy practical. both effectively utilizing and contributing to the exciting
In this sense, as depicted in Fig. 1, fusion plasma science fits progress in information technology and scientific computing.
the ‘‘Pasteur’s Quadrant’’ paradigm,1 where there exists a This has played a key role in producing a more stimulating
strong coupling between basic science 共‘‘Bohr’s Quadrant’’兲 environment for carrying out the type of research with great-
and technological impact 共‘‘Edison’s Quadrant’’兲. Accord- est promise for accelerating scientific understanding and in-
ingly, future research will require the accelerated develop- novation.
ment of computational tools and techniques that vitally aid
the acquisition of the scientific understanding needed to de-
velop predictive models which can prove superior to empiri- II. ADVANCES AND CHALLENGES IN
COMPUTATIONAL PLASMA SCIENCES
Paper TR1 1, Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 46, 321 共2001兲.

a兲 Although the fundamental laws that determine the be-
b兲
Invited speaker. havior of plasmas, such as Maxwell’s equations and those of
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Phys. Plasmas, Vol. 9, No. 5, May 2002 Advanced computations in plasma physics 1857
FIG. 1. 共Color兲 Fusion energy science is in Pasteur’s Quadrant.
classical statistical mechanics, are well known, obtaining

their solution under realistic conditions is a scientific prob-
lem of extraordinary complexity. In a magnetically-confined
plasma, the interplay between the complex trajectories of
individual charged particles and the collective effects arising
from the long-range nature of electromagnetics forces lead to
a wide range of waves, oscillations, and instabilities charac-
terizing the medium. As a result, there is an enormous range
of temporal and spatial scales involved in plasmas of inter-
est. As illustrated in Fig. 2, the relevant physical processes
can span over ten decades in time and space. The effective
prediction of the properties of energy-producing fusion
plasma systems depends on the successful integration of
many complex phenomena spanning these vast ranges. This
is a formidable challenge that can only be met with advanced
scientific computing in tandem with theory and experiment.
Magnetically-confined plasmas are naturally subject to
both large and small-scale disturbances 共‘‘instabilities’’兲
which thermodynamically relax the system to a lower energy
state. In order to generate more power output than it takes to
keep the plasma hot in fusion experiments, it is necessary to
first understand these complex, collective phenomena, and
then devise the means to control them. The larger-scale
共‘‘macro’’兲 instabilities can produce rapid topological
changes in the confining magnetic field resulting in a cata-
strophic loss of fusion power density. In addition, smaller-
scale 共‘‘micro’’兲 instabilities can also prevent efficient hot
plasma confinement by causing the turbulent transport of en-
ergy and particles. Because of the complexity of the kinetic,
electromagnetic, and atomic physics equations describing the
FIG. 2. 共Color兲 Widely disparate temporal and spatial scales in fusion en-
behavior of fusion plasmas, researchers in this field have a ergy sciences research.
long history of productive use of advanced computation and
modeling. Beginning with the establishment of the predeces-
sor to the Department of Energy 共DOE兲 National Energy confinement and the interactions of plasma with its surround-
Research Scientific Computing Center 共NERSC兲 25 years ings. The recognition of this fact has been underscored more
ago, the U.S. fusion community has been actively and pro- recently by the inclusion of Fusion Energy Science as an
ductively engaged in the simulation and modeling of plasma active member of the new DOE Office of Science ‘‘Scientific
1858 Phys. Plasmas, Vol. 9, No. 5, May 2002 W. M. Tang
FIG. 3. 共Color兲 Scientific computing is critical to discovery in many scientific disciplines in the DOE Office of Science research portfolio.
Discovery through Advanced Computing 共SciDAC兲’’ Pro- needed to assess the application of waves to heat the plasma
gram. This is illustrated in the SciDAC Program’s own figure as well as address the dynamics of energetic particles result-
共Fig. 3兲, which clearly states that advanced computing is ing from intense auxiliary heating and/or alpha particles
critical to discovery in DOE science programs.2 The lead role from the fusion reactions. Microturbulence and the associ-
for coordinating the plasma science component of this new ated transport come from fine-scale turbulence, driven by
program is the charge given to the Plasma Science Advanced inhomogeneities in the plasma density and temperature,
Computing Institute 共PSACI兲 by the Office of Fusion Energy which can cause particles, momentum, and heat to leak
Science. The Fusion SciDAC projects include most of the across the flux surfaces from the hot interior to be lost at the
key topical areas discussed in this review. plasma edge. Finally, plasma–material interactions deter-
As described in the recent National Research Council mine how high-temperature plasmas and material surfaces
report3 assessing plasma physics, the scientific challenges re- can co-exist. Progress in scientific understanding in all of
lated to magnetically-confined plasmas can be categorized these areas contributes in an integrated sense to fusion device
into four areas: macroscopic stability, wave–particle interac- design considerations and demands significant advances in
tions, microturbulence and transport, and plasma–material physics-based modeling capabilities. Indeed, advanced scien-
interactions. Because charged particles, momentum, and heat tific codes are a realistic measure of the state of understand-
move more rapidly along the magnetic field than across it, ing of all natural and engineered systems.
magnetic fusion research has focused on magnetic traps in The developmental path for modern high performance
which the magnetic field lines wrap back on themselves to computational codes as validated tools for scientific discov-
cover a set of nested toroidal surfaces called magnetic flux ery can be visualized as shown in Fig. 4. This multi-
surfaces 共because each surface encloses a constant magnetic disciplinary collaborative process begins with basic theoret-
flux兲. Macroscopic stability is concerned with large-scale ical research laying the foundations for the mathematical
spontaneous deformations of magnetic flux surfaces. These formulation of the physical phenomena of interest observed
major displacements or macroinstabilities are driven by the in experiments. Computational scientists produce the codes
large electrical currents flowing in the plasma and by the which solve these equations using the best possible algo-
plasma pressure. Wave–particle interactions deal with how rithms which efficiently utilize modern high-performance
particles and plasma waves interact. A detailed calculation of computers. They do so in partnership with applied mathema-
particle motions in background electromagnetic fields is ticians who provide the basic mathematical algorithms and
FIG. 4. 共Color兲 Development of high performance codes as validated tools for scientific discovery.
the computer scientists who provide the requisite computer theory/experiment comparisons prove satisfactory, code per-
systems software. The computational scientists must then en- formance criteria for speed and efficiency could dictate an-
gage the research applications scientists in the critical scien- other round in the computational science box. If all criteria
tific code validation phase where the newly computed results are met, then the new ‘‘tool for scientific discovery’’ can be
are compared against experimental/observational data. This effectively utilized for interpreting experimental data, de-
is a major challenge involving a hierarchy of benchmarking signing new experiments, and even predicting new phenom-
criteria which begin with cross-checks against analytic ena of interest. This cycle of development will of course be
theory, empirical trends, and suggestive ‘‘pictorial’’ levels of repeated as new discoveries are encountered.
agreement. It then graduates to sensitivity studies, where Simulation domains have both minimum and maximum
agreement is sought when key physical parameters are si-
limits on spatial and temporal resolution so that any given
multaneously varied in the simulation and experiment/
plasma simulation can only address a finite range of space
observation. At the next level, richer physics validation is
and time scales. In the past, this limitation has been dealt
dependent on the availability of advanced experimental diag-
nostics which can produce integrated measurements of key with by deriving simplified sets of equations, or ‘‘reduced
physical quantities such as spectra, correlation functions, equations,’’ that are valid for only limited ranges of time and
heating rates, and other variables of interest. If the space scales. Examples of these are the ‘‘gyrokinetic
simulation/experimental data comparisons are unsatisfactory equations’’4 or the ‘‘MHD equations.’’5 While the reduced
at any of these validation levels, the work flow moves back equations have enabled progress in the past, they have fun-
to 共i兲 the theorists 共in consultation with experimentalists兲 if damental restrictions on their regions of validity. In actual
the problem looks to be with the mathematical model; and laboratory or natural plasmas, phenomena occurring on dif-
共ii兲 computational scientists 共in consultation with applied ferent time and space scales interact and influence one an-
mathematicians and computer scientists兲 if the problem ap- other. It thus becomes essential to utilize more general equa-
pears to be with the computational method. Even when the tions which are valid on a wider range of space and time
FIG. 5. 共Color兲 Categorization of macroscopic simulation capabilities and corresponding applications topics.
scales and which will accordingly increase the simulation faithfully represent the physics and contributed to dramati-
domains. cally increasing the accuracy and realism of the particle-in-
At the most fundamental level a plasma can be described cell simulation technique.
by kinetic equations for the distribution function within a The fluid models proceed by advancing velocity mo-
six-dimensional 共plus time兲 phase-space of each particle spe- ments of the kinetic equation in time. The best known of
cies. These kinetic equations are coupled to each other these are the extended-magnetohydrodynamics 共MHD兲
through self-consistent electric and magnetic fields. The models9 which represent the plasma as one or more interact-
simulation techniques used in plasma physics fall into two ing conducting fluids. This higher-level description frees the
broad categories: kinetic models and fluid models. The most model of many fine-scale resolution requirements and makes
prominent kinetic approach is the particle-in-cell method, feasible the simulation of large-scale motions and instabili-
which proceeds by integrating a 共possibly reduced兲 kinetic ties. Extensive theoretical analysis over the years has led to
equation in time by advancing marker-particles along a rep- refinements of the fluid model and improved the closure re-
resentative set of characteristics within the 共possibly re- lations so that many nonfluid effects, such as particle motion
duced兲 phase space. Simulation techniques such as ‘‘finite and wave–particle resonances, can be represented at some
sized particles’’6 共to reduce the ‘‘noise’’ due to discrete level. This is illustrated in Fig. 5 which depicts the different
marker particles兲, ‘‘gyro-kinetics’’7 共a reduction of the full levels of macroscopic simulation capabilities along with
kinetic equation to a five-dimensional phase space which re- some representative topics to which they are applicable.10
moves high-frequency motion not important to turbulent In the following, representative examples of large-scale
transport兲, and ‘‘delta-f’’8 共a prescription for integrating the simulations that have been performed in the macroscopic
gyrokinetic equation along characteristics which further re- stability, wave–particle interaction, and microturbulence and
duces the discrete particle noise兲 have been developed over transport areas are presented. Future research directions will
the last 20 years. These advances have served to reduce the be discussed along with the need and readiness for enhanced
requirements on the number of ‘‘particles’’ necessary to computational resources.
studies helped motivate subsequent experiments to further

advance knowledge in this key area.
The nonlinear evolution of ‘‘magnetic islands’’ is a true
multi-scale problem in that these topological changes in the
magnetic field simultaneously involve the slow time-scale
associated with the growth of the islands together with the
rapid Alfvén time-scale of the underlying waves. Specifi-
cally, in units of a normalized time for an Alfvén wave to
traverse the system, the islands evolve over a time period
that is given approximately by the ratio of the magnetic dif-
fusion time to the Alfvén transit time 共the Lundquist number,
S兲. When the longer mean-free-path dynamics resulting from
toroidal geometry effects are taken into account, the resultant
‘‘neoclassical tearing modes’’ are found to limit the maxi-
mum attainable pressure in long-duration tokamak experi-
ments. Figure 7 illustrates the complex magnetic topology
structure that can develop in associated nonlinear MHD
FIG. 6. 共Color兲 Simulation of high plasma pressure induced disruption in simulations12 where such plasma instabilities cause the mag-
the TFTR tokamak experiment. netic surfaces to break into islands when the winding num-
bers on those surfaces are ratios of small integers. This type
of simulation is presently carried out with unrealistic small
A. Macroscopic stability simulations values of the Lundquist number (S⬃10 4 ) to accommodate
computational requirements. In addition to the major compu-
Many key macroscopic simulation problems in fusion
tational challenge of dealing with more realistic values 共i.e.,
science share the common features of extreme temporal and
S⬃10 6 ), a self-consistent closure for the neoclassical fluid
spatial stiffness, severe spatial anisotropy, and complex
equations is under active analytic development.
boundary conditions. These characteristics make them
In addition to the validation of advanced codes against
among the most challenging problems in computational
analytic theory and against each other, comparisons against
physics. Some examples of advances of macroscopic compu-
experimental results have become increasingly compelling.
tations which have contributed significantly to advancing un-
Aided by the successful implementation of unstructured
derstanding of toroidal plasmas include simulations of 共i兲
mesh algorithms and the application of advanced visualiza-
large-scale disruptions in the actual fusion-energy-producing
tion resources to deal with complex three-dimensional toroi-
Toroidal Fusion Test Reactor 共TFTR兲 tokamak; 共ii兲 nonlinear
evolution of magnetic islands; and 共iii兲 nonlinear evolution dal structures, recent nonlinear simulations of an internal
of an internal reconnection event in the National Spherical magnetic reconnection event in the NSTX experiment pro-
Torus Experiment 共NSTX兲 plasma. TFTR is an example of a vide an excellent example of such progress. As depicted in
conventional tokamak or ‘‘doughnut-shaped’’ torus, while Fig. 8, the sequence of images depicts the evolution of inter-
NSTX is an example of a spherical torus with a hole through nal MHD instability showing how the hot inner region of the
the middle like a ‘‘cored-apple.’’ plasma 共depicted in red兲 interchanges with the cold outer
One of the most dramatic events to occur in fusion plas- region 共green兲 via magnetic reconnection.9,13,14 Comparisons
mas is known as the major disruption. This is a catastrophic between soft x-ray measurements of the thermal response
event that can lead to the near instantaneous breakup of the against results from the simulations indicate reasonably en-
magnetic flux surfaces and loss of confinement. Macroscopic couraging agreement with good prospects for improvement
simulations have addressed the challenge of predicting the when these calculations are carried out at a higher resolution
conditions under which the disruption occurs and the conse- on more powerful computing platforms.
quences of the disruption on the surrounding plasma struc- The preceding examples of simulations of macroscopic
ture. Figure 6 depicts results from a nonlinear macroscopic dynamics involved toroidal 共tokamak兲 applications. Progress
simulation of a disruption event induced by high plasma in modeling capabilities are of course also very important for
pressure which prevented the achievement of higher fusion many other types of magnetic confinement configurations.
power output in the TFTR tokamak.11 The three-dimensional For example, reversed field pinch 共RFP兲 plasmas exhibit a
structure of select pressure contours shown here is associated nonlinear dynamo that sustains the toroidal flux against re-
with a complex highly nonlinear process that involved two sistive diffusion. The dynamo results from the nonlinear in-
distinct plasma instabilities interacting to further destabilize teraction between long wavelength, low-frequency dynami-
one another nonlinearly. Note that the constant pressure con- cal modes. The associated magnetic fluctuations determine in
tours resemble fingers in each poloidal plane, but look like large part the confinement properties of the RFP configura-
ribbons in the toroidal direction. These distortions cause tion. With the aid of advanced computational models, critical
magnetic field lines to become stochastic which in turn questions for the future of this concept will be addressed.
causes a rapid loss of thermal energy and a subsequent rapid These include multi-scale issues such as how the dynamo
loss of plasma current to occur. Insights gained from these activity and associated magnetic fluctuations scale with the
FIG. 7. 共Color兲 The complex magnetic topology structure developed as a result of resistive MHD instabilities.
Lundquist number and how this system behaves for times computational requirements will depend on how effective
much longer than the resistive decay time of the first wall. methods such as implicit time-stepping and adaptive mesh
In general, accommodating the space and time resolution refinement 共AMR兲 prove to be. Expected improvements in
demands embodied by extended-MHD models and low Lun- single-processor optimization, algorithmic advances, and
dquist number resistive MHD investigations will require sig- available compute power should continue to stimulate im-
nificant increases in computing power and improved algo- pressive progress in this area. Enhanced computational re-
rithms. For a model of a given mathematical complexity, the sources should also have a dramatic effect on enabling the
FIG. 8. 共Color兲 Nonlinear simulation of internal magnetic reconnection event in the National Spherical Torus Experiment.
FIG. 9. 共Color兲 Two-dimensional field solutions for conversion of fast ion

cyclotron waves to ion Bernstein waves in the heating of the DIII-D toka-
mak plasma.
codes utilizing the physical models involving particle clo-

sures to resolve velocity space. As these computationally de-
manding models are exercised with sufficient spatial resolu- FIG. 10. 共Color兲 Flux tube or annular region of a 3-D toroidal plasma.
tion and for longer times, improved understanding of the
physical differences between fluid and particle closures will progress in this area will be important for the future
lead to a new generation of MHD ‘‘tools for discovery.’’ development of wave-based techniques for plasma control
needed to help access and then control plasma behavior in
B. Wave–particle interactions simulations advanced confinement regimes. In addition to fusion
Electromagnetic waves play a fundamental role in the applications, advances in these computational models will
dynamics of plasma either as externally-driven waves or as also be of interest to areas such as 共i兲 radio-frequency-
self-generated instabilities. Realistic calculations of particle driven plasma sources for plasma processing of materials
motions in background electromagnetic fields are needed to including semiconductors;17 共ii兲 advanced space-propulsion
assess the efficacy of various applications of waves to heat approaches;18 and 共iii兲 the possible relevance of ion-
the plasma and also to address the impact of energetic par- cyclotron damping of Alfvén waves to the high-temperature
ticles which result from strong auxiliary heating and/or the solar wind.19
generation of alpha particles from fusion reactions. To re-
C. Microscopic turbulent transport simulations
spond to this challenge, simulation codes of wave–plasma
interactions are being developed which make increasingly Understanding turbulent plasma transport is not only an
effective use of terascale computers.15 An illustrative recent important practical problem but is generally recognized as a
example is the application of MPP power to resolve short true scientific grand challenge problem which is particularly
wavelength structures in mode conversion studies. In this well-suited to be addressed by terascale MPP computational
complex wave-heating process, different wave modes, which resources. Building on the progress from the ‘‘Numerical
co-exist at widely separated wavelengths, can interact due to Tokamak Turbulence Project 共NTTP兲’’ within the DOE High
strong spatial variations within plasmas. Figure 9 illustrates Performance Computing and Communications 共HPCC兲
the computation16 of important wave features in 2D that had Grand Challenge Program, improved models with efficient
previously been largely carried out in 1D. Targeting fully grids aligned with the magnetic field have now been devel-
2-D field solutions across the entire cross-section of the oped to address realistic 3-D 共toroidal兲 geometry with both
DIII-D tokamak plasma, these results for the conversion of global and local approaches.20 The ‘‘flux tube’’ codes can
fast ion cyclotron waves to ion Berstein waves 共IBW兲 clearly concentrate on the fine-scale dynamical processes localized
highlight the fact that IBW’s are excited with strong up– to an annular region depicted in Fig. 10. Global codes have
down asymmetry. Further insights into the physics of this the more imposing multi-scale challenge of capturing the
asymmetry will place greater demands on the resolution of physics both on the small scale of the fluctuations 共microin-
the ion Bernstein wavelength. Since the present computa- stabilities兲 and the large scale of the equilibrium profile
tions already involved the solution of the wave equation— variations. In addition to improved implementation of the
120 000 coupled complex linear equations for 200⫻200 well-established gyrokinetic particle-in-cell algorithms, gy-
Fourier modes, future demands for more processors and rokinetic continuum 共Vlasov兲 approaches have also been
memory will be severe. Such requirements may be signifi- productively advanced.21
cantly alleviated with more efficient advanced algorithms Computer simulations are being counted upon to ad-
such as adaptive mesh refinement approaches. Scientific vance the scientific understanding of the turbulence respon-
FIG. 11. 共Color兲 Turbulence reduction via sheared plasma flow compared to case with flow suppressed.
sible for the increased 共‘‘anomalously large’’兲 transport of would encounter the major multi-scale task of also dealing
particles, momentum, and heat, which are experimentally ob- with the larger-scale phenomena associated with the afore-
served to be significantly greater than levels expected from mentioned MHD studies.
the collisional relaxation of toroidally-confined plasmas A good example of progress in kinetic simulations in-
共‘‘neoclassical theory’’兲. This is particularly important for fu- volves studies of electrostatic turbulence suppression pro-
sion because the effective size 共and therefore cost兲 of an duced by self-generated zonal flows within the plasma. Re-
ignition experiment will be determined largely by the bal- sults from particle-in-cell global gyrokinetic simulations
ance between fusion self-heating and turbulent transport show that the suppression of turbulence caused by prominent
losses. With the advent of teraflop-scale MPP computers, instabilities driven by ion temperature gradients 共ITG兲 is pro-
high resolution simulations of the fundamental equations duced by a shearing action which destroys the finger-like
governing turbulent transport begins to become feasible. If density contours which promote increased thermal transport
reliably implemented, this would be a cost-effective means in a 3-D toroidal system.23 This dynamical process is de-
to address key phenomena that would otherwise require ex- picted by the sequences shown in Fig. 11. The lower panels,
pensive empirical exploration of a huge parameter space. Al- which show the nonlinear evolution of the turbulence in the
though the progress in capturing the ion dynamics has been absence of flow, can be compared against the upper panel
impressive, the description of the electrons is still being up- sequence which illustrates the turbulence decorrelation
graded to include important kinetic effects such as trapping caused by the self-generated E⫻B flow. This is also a good
in equilibrium magnetic wells, drift motions, and wave– example of the effective use of one of the fastest nonclassi-
particle resonances. Significant challenges also remain in ex- fied supercomputers in the world 共the 5 teraflop IBM-SP at
tending the present capabilities for dealing with electrostatic NERSC兲. The most recent simulations24 of this type used one
perturbations to include magnetic perturbations—especially billion particles with 125 million grid-points over 7000 time-
in cases where they are sufficiently large to alter the actual steps to produce significant new physics results. In particular,
geometric properties of the self-consistent magnetic field. In large-scale simulations have been carried out to explore
such circumstances, microinstabilities can drive currents par- some of the key consequences of scaling up from present-
allel to the equilibrium magnetic field, which in turn produce day experimental devices 共around 3 meters radius for the
magnetic perturbations in the perpendicular direction. These largest existing machines兲 to those of reactor dimensions
kinetic electromagnetic waves can modify the stability prop- 共about 6 meters兲. As shown in Fig. 12, transport driven by
erties of the electrostatic modes or act as separate instabili- electrostatic ITG turbulence in present scale devices can
ties, such as kinetic ballooning modes,22 which can alter the change character in larger systems. This transition from
magnetic topology. In this sense, the kinetic simulations Bohm-like scaling to Larmor-orbit-dependent ‘‘gyro-Bohm’’
transport is likely linked to the ability to deal with magnetic

perturbations. They can potentially cause a great increase in
electron heat flux either through transient deformations of
the magnetic field 共‘‘magnetic flutter’’兲 or by producing an
ergodic region in which the magnetic field lines no longer
rest on nested flux surfaces but wander instead through a
finite volume ‘‘breaking’’ the flux surfaces.
The most favorable actual confinement of fusion-
relevant plasmas occurs in highly localized regions associ-
ated with the spontaneous formation of transport barriers.
These regions, in which the turbulent transport is greatly
reduced or completely vanishes, are associated with regions
of high electric field shear and very steep pressure gradients.
Open questions include identifying the physics behind their
radial structure and propagation as well as accounting for
FIG. 12. Full torus simulation of turbulent transport scaling.
their experimentally observed power threshold. Since experi-
ments indicate that electron transport can be large in such
scaling is a positive trend, because simple empirical extrapo- regions where the longer-wavelength modes 共e.g., ITG兲 are
lation of the smaller system findings would be more pessi- predicted to be absent, the possible relevance of electron
mistic. Some experimental observations in a number of rep- temperature gradient 共ETG兲 instabilities has been actively
resentative present-day experiments indicate that the relative pursued.32 These are extremely short-wavelength modes
level of turbulent heat loss increases with plasma size while 共scale-lengths between the electron gyroradius and the colli-
the size of these eddies remains the same.25 However, excep- sionless skin depth兲 which demand a kinetic description of
tions to this trend, where gyro-Bohm-like scaling is sensitive the electron species. If such modes prove to be as important
to plasma rotation, have also been reported in certain high- as the more familiar longer wavelength instabilities, dealing
confinement 共‘‘H-mode’’兲 cases.26 Such experimental inves- with the associated electron/ion mass ratio issues 共e.g., si-
tigations of confinement scaling properties remain a chal- multaneously resolving ITG and ETG turbulence兲 would in-
lenging area of investigation. Nevertheless, for the larger troduce a huge spatial scale problem that would be most
sized reactor-scale plasmas of the future, the present simula- imposing even with terascale simulation capabilities.
tions indicate that the relative level of turbulent heat loss While much work remains before a realistic computa-
from electrostatic turbulence does not increase with size. The tional model, which captures the key physics behind
underlying question of why such a transition might occur microturbulence-driven transport, is at hand, encouraging
around the 400 gyroradii range indicated by the simulations progress has been made. For example, flux-surface-averaged
is being explored. Although this is clearly a very favorable models of heat transport, developed by fitting the ion thermal
prediction, the fidelity of the analysis needs to be further conductivity to results from nonlinear microturbulence simu-
examined by investigating additional physics effects which lations, have achieved reasonable agreement when compared
might alter the present predictions. The analysis of associ- against actual magnetic confinement experiments.33
ated scientific issues will naturally demand more comprehen-
sive physics models within microturbulence codes. In addi-
tion to addressing experimental validation challenges, the
D. Plasma boundary physics simulations
interplay between analytic theory and advanced simulations
will be increasingly important. For example, impressive Understanding plasma boundary physics, which includes
progress in physics understanding of the nonlinear processes plasma–wall interactions and turbulent transport in the
associated with zonal flow dynamics has resulted both from geometrically-complex plasma edge region, is a most formi-
directions provided simulations by analytic theory as well as dable challenge. Advances in the capability to reliably pre-
by simulation results which have inspired new analytic dict interactions between the plasma and its material inter-
models.27–30 faces have come primarily in tokamak divertor research. This
A key multi-scale challenge for kinetic simulations is the has necessitated the development of models dealing with
realistic implementation of complete electron 共‘‘nonadia- atomic physics and the presence of neutral gas which is able
batic’’兲 physics and electromagnetic dynamics. On the imme- to penetrate into the plasma edge. Improved understanding
diate horizon, present capabilities for dealing with electro- will require proper formulation of the basic equations de-
static perturbations are being successfully extended to scribing complex experimentally-observed processes such as
include nonadiabatic electrons.31 Much more challenging, es- filamentation and bursting behavior. The generalization of
pecially for global simulations, are the electromagnetic present laminar models to more realistic 3-D descriptions
waves, which can alter the stability properties of the electro- will require a strong interplay between advanced computing
static modes and also generate separate instabilities associ- and benchmarking against theoretical models motivated by
ated with deformations of magnetic surfaces. In fact, answer- experimentally-observed trends. Progress on improved mod-
ing the long standing question about what causes the eling of the atomic physics at the plasma edge will also be
ubiquitously-observed anomalously large electron thermal actively pursued with advanced computational models.34
FIG. 13. 共Color兲 Initial k-spectrum comparisons between recent gas-puff

imaging experimental measurements and 3-D electromagnetic fluid code
simulations of edge turbulence on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak.
With regard to transport at the plasma boundary, the chal- FIG. 14. 共Color兲 3-D gyrokinetic particle-in-cell codes have demonstrated
lenge is to develop a better physics description of edge tur- excellent scaling as the number of processors is increased.
bulence. This is of course related to issues discussed in the
preceding section. Magnetically confined plasmas terminate
at a last closed flux surface, which is defined by either the other variables of interest. Other outstanding challenges fac-
presence of a material boundary, or by a ‘‘separatrix’’—a ing plasma boundary physics simulations in the future in-
magnetic surface separating the closed, nested flux surfaces clude 共i兲 self-consistent coupling between the plasma bound-
from the open ones that strike a material surface. Particles, ary and core heat and particle fluxes; and 共ii兲 advancing
momentum, and heat are rapidly conducted along open field beyond fluid equations to deal with kinetic dynamics.
lines to the material surface. This results in the formation of
a boundary layer about the last closed flux surface where the
III. TERASCALE COMPUTING CHALLENGES
radial gradients steepen until the cross-field transport can
compete with the rapid transport parallel to the equilibrium Addressing the scientific issues described in this review
magnetic field. An analysis of this boundary layer is greatly requires advanced code development efforts which are im-
complicated by the convergence of scale lengths 共i.e., the ion portant for most areas of research. The primary task involves
orbit width, which provides the characteristic scale of the enhancing the physics models and developing more efficient
turbulence, is actually comparable in magnitude to the scale algorithms to efficiently deal with the associated problems.
length of the density and temperature gradients兲. The associ- Challenges include 共i兲 multi-scale physics such as kinetic
ated absence of small expansion parameters obviously com- electromagnetic dynamics which have been discussed in the
plicates the analysis. Nevertheless, substantial progress has previous section; 共ii兲 improved algorithms; and 共iii兲 scalabil-
been made using electromagnetic fluid codes to simulate the ity of codes. With regard to item 共ii兲, in addition to making
edge plasma turbulence.35 As shown in Fig. 13, initial com- sure presently working algorithms are scalable to new com-
parisons of the wave-number 共k兲 spectrum from 3-D electro- puting platforms, innovative numerical algorithms will have
magnetic fluid code simulations of edge turbulence with re- to be invented to make progress. In addition, powerful ap-
sults from very recent gas-puff imaging experimental proaches such as adaptive mesh refinement for higher dimen-
measurements on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak show a favor- sionality phase-space need to be actively pursued. Item 共iii兲
able level of agreement which should encourage further deals with the ability to efficiently implement existing codes
studies.36 This is also a good illustration of the richer physics on the most powerful MPP supercomputers to enable simu-
validation described in Sec. II, which is dependent on the lations of larger problems. In fact, for virtually all of the
availability of advanced experimental diagnostics capable of topical areas covered in this review, the plasma science com-
producing integrated measurements of key physical quanti- munity has had success in developing codes for which com-
ties such as spectra, correlation functions, heating rates, and puter run-time and problem size scale well with the number
FIG. 15. 共Color兲 3-D particle-in-cell code simulations of dynamics in the

magnetic reconnection current layer leading to the generation of localized
regions of an intense anti-parallel electric field 共‘‘electron holes’’兲.
of processors on massively parallel machines. An example of

this, as illustrated in Fig. 14, is the microturblence code,
GTC, which has recently demonstrated full scalability for FIG. 16. 共Color兲 Massively parallel supercomputers effectively utilized to
2000 processors. design future experimental facilities via optimization of confinement and
It should be emphasized that a consequence of the effec- constructability properties.
tive utilization of supercomputers is the tremendous amount
of data generated. The microturbulence example described
earlier in this paper alone produced over 2 terabytes of data. ing VTK have significantly advanced this capability in the
Hence, coordinated efforts will be essential not only to help microturbulence simulation area.20 Also, in order to realize
accelerate progress on the impressive state-of-the-art physics the benefits from advancements in understanding, it will be
advances but also to provide the necessary tools for data necessary to periodically update existing integrated models
visualization, mining, and manipulation. Means of dealing to ensure that they reflect the fresh insights gained from
with the ‘‘data glut’’ in the interactive exploratory visualiza- these new ‘‘tools for discovery.’’
tion of terascale simulations, including image rendering, Improvements in plasma diagnostic techniques have
must be developed. Another key priority involves developing made it increasingly feasible to demonstrate more in-depth
a set of diagnostic and visualization tools that will allow correlations between experimental results and theoretical
real-time interaction with the simulated data. This is impor- models. For example, the development of diagnostic instru-
tant for assisting applications scientists in testing theories/ ments capable of making high resolution measurements of
hypotheses and in answering specific questions about the key electric and magnetic fields and cross-sectional measure-
physics within the computational models. Recent efforts us- ments of turbulent fluctuations have greatly improved the
FIG. 17. 共Color兲 Interfacing of MPP simulation of microwave reflectometry diagnostic with large-scale microturbulence simulation results.
basic understanding of the mechanisms controlling plasma data visualization, mining, and manipulation. As part of the
confinement. As in dealing with the output from terascale new DOE SciDAC Program, this project forges for the first
simulations, maximizing the effectiveness of simulation/ time a partnership between computational applications scien-
experiment comparisons will also necessitate addressing tists at the three largest U.S. magnetic fusion experimental
critical computer science and enabling technology 共CSET兲 facilities at General Atomics 共San Diego, CA兲, PPPL 共Prin-
issues in the area of data management and visualization. In- ceton, NJ兲, and MIT 共Cambridge, MA兲 together with com-
deed, the power of advanced computing to solve challenging puter scientists at Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence
problems can be fully exploited only if a capable infrastruc- Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Computer Science
ture is established and effective software tools are made Departments at the University of Utah and Princeton Univer-
available. Terascale computing requires complementary soft- sity. This cross-disciplinary effort37 has set goals including
ware that scales as well as the hardware and which provides 共i兲 more efficient use of experimental facilities via powerful
an efficient code development environment. In general, net- new between-pulse data analysis capabilities; 共ii兲 better ac-
working, database, visualization, and other infrastructure cess by researchers to analysis and simulation codes, data,
tools are critically needed to strengthen the coupling between and visualization tools; and 共iii兲 the creation of a standard
terascale simulations with theory and experiment. tool set for remote data access, security, and visualization.
The applications development challenge for terascale
computing will invariably involve multiple research institu-
tions. Hence, efficiency will require system integration and IV. CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES
the availability of middleware software that allows maximal
use of available computing platforms to support joint appli- The increased emphasis on advanced computations in
cation development projects. Accordingly, modern object- fusion energy sciences carries an exciting vision for the fu-
oriented code development methods are needed to facilitate ture which can serve the vitally important role of helping to
sharing code development efforts among collaborators from attract and educate the bright young people essential for the
numerous research groups. future technological health of this field. It can also stimulate
As emphasized throughout the course of this review, it is mutually beneficial scientific alliances with other applica-
critically important for advanced simulations to be rigorously tions areas. For example, effective modeling of global sys-
validated against experiments to ensure the fidelity of the tems, combustion, and fusion devices all deal with complex,
science. Progress in this direction requires strong collabora- 3-D, nonlinear fluid flows and associated kinetic dynamics,
tion between the CSET community and application areas albeit in very different parametric regimes. They share the
such as plasma science. An encouraging step toward the fu- common computational challenge to rapidly develop ad-
ture has been the establishment of a national fusion energy vanced integrated modeling capabilities capable of treating
sciences collaboratory project which targets advances in con- complex dynamical systems covering many decades in time
nectivity to experimental data and to state-of-the-art tools for and space. The computational challenges posed by nonlinear
plasma fluid problems share many common features with

computational fluid dynamics 共CFD兲 issues faced in global
systems modeling, materials sciences, the DOE’s ASCI 共de-
fense兲 program, and numerous other areas. As for non-DOE
agencies, plasma physics has long-standing programs with
NASA and NSF in the space physics and basic science are-
nas which can be further strengthened. Additionally, ad-
vanced computational modeling capabilities will also stimu-
late progress in nonfusion plasma applications, including the
manufacture of microelectronic components, plasma display
panels, plasma thrusters for satellites, and the use of plasmas
for waste remediation. Realistic physics-based plasma mod-
els will also help accelerate the pace of breakthroughs in
plasma science applications to energetic beams, to space
physics, to solar physics, and to astrophysics. Numerous at-
tractive opportunities currently exist not only for cross-
disciplinary interactions between a scientific application area
and applied math and computer science, but also for cross-
cutting collaborations among various application disciplines.
Some representative examples include the following.
共1兲 Magnetic Reconnection Simulations: Magnetic re-
connection is a research topic of great interest in plasma
physics as well as other areas such as space physics and
astrophysics.38 This is a fundamental dynamical process
which enables a magnetized plasma system to convert mag-
netic energy into high speed flows, thermal energy, and en-
ergetic particles. In order to understand the kinetic processes
occurring at very small scales which control the release of
magnetic energy on a global scale, it is necessary to address
physics coupling across vastly disparate spatial and temporal
scales. This basically involves dynamics in narrow layer re-
gions where long-mean-free path kinetic dynamics are im-
portant and distant regions where a macroscopic description
with proper boundary conditions enforced is appropriate. Ac-
cordingly, the associated research for this multi-scale grand
challenge problem involves the application of both MHD
and kinetic analysis capabilities. In addition to significant
theoretical advances,39 dedicated laboratory experiments are
now actively exploring the structure of the current sheet
which defines the ‘‘dissipation region.’’40 In the advanced
simulation area, a promising new cross-cutting initiative
within the plasma science component of the SciDAC Pro-
gram involves a collaboration between plasma scientists at
the University of Iowa and the University of Texas at Austin
with computational astrophysics researchers at the Univer-
sity of Chicago.41 A single-fluid MHD capability has recently
been implemented in the University of Chicago’s ‘‘Flash
Code,’’42 which solves the fully compressible Navier–Stokes
equations and has been successfully utilized on a large and
diverse scope of applications including astrophysics-relevant
problems. With attractive modern features including adaptive
mesh refinement capabilities implemented, this fully parallel
code, which won the Supercomputing 2000 Gordon Bell
FIG. 18. 共Color兲 3-D particle-in-cell simulation of electron–proton two-
Prize, will now target two-fluid simulations of magnetic re- stream instability.
connection dynamics with focus on Hall current physics is-
sues. Regarding plasma physics advances impacting other nomena in magnetospheric and solar physics research. This
areas of research, computational progress in magnetic recon- includes topics such as solar flares, coronal mass ejection,
nection studies in laboratory plasmas are having an increas- and magnetic sub-storms in the magnetosphere. A good ex-
ingly significant impact on the exploration of associated phe- ample comes from the collaboration led by the University of
FIG. 19. 共Color兲 Example of cross-disciplinary graduate program targeting education in areas of computational science applications 共including plasma
physics兲 together with applied math and computer science.
Maryland and involving researchers at the Max Planck Insti- simulation. This innovative new capability can cost-
tute for Plasma Physics and Dartmouth College. They have effectively aid the interpretation of the reflectometry data
recently carried out particle simulations 共using 70M particles from experiments. It should also help to more efficiently
and 20M grid points in 3-D simulations with periodic bound- utilize the existing diagnostic capabilities and to design
ary conditions兲 in which the large reduction of the magnetic improved diagnostic capabilities for the future.
reconnection current layer width is associated with the rapid 共4兲 High Energy and Accelerator Physics: Another ex-
acceleration of electrons.43 As illustrated in Fig. 15, the re- ample of some recent computationally-driven advances in
sultant ‘‘electron beam’’ is found to produce a two-stream plasma physics which impact progress in other disciplines
instability which nonlinearly evolves into ‘‘electron involves the high energy and accelerator physics area. Uti-
holes’’—localized regions of intense anti-parallel electric lizing a particle simulation approach 共‘‘delta-f’’ method兲 pio-
field. The authors have pointed out that these new simulation neered in magnetic confinement studies,8 a new three-
results are quite possibly relevant to recent polar satellite dimensional particle code for both ions and electrons has
observations of qualitatively similar phenomena in regions successfully simulated electron-proton two-stream instabili-
where magnetic reconnection could be present.
ties from initial noise.46 Results obtained from tracking about
共2兲 Design of Advanced Experiments. In the recent na-
one million particles over one million lattice periods 共beta-
tional effort to design the National Compact Stellarator
tron oscillations兲 are shown in Fig. 18. Developed within the
Experiment,44 the efficient utilization of massively parallel
workscope of the Heavy Ion Fusion Virtual National Labo-
processing 共MPP兲 computations was essential for the optimi-
ratory 共LBNL, LLNL, PPPL兲,47 this code has addressed a
zation of the key stability and transport properties in this
complex plasma configuration 共see Fig. 16兲. Moreover, the key problem of interest to the high energy and accelerator
MPP computations were critical for addressing ‘‘constructa- community—the presence of unwanted electron populations
bility’’ issues which involved the proper design of the mag- observed in the LANL Proton Storage Ring Experiment and
netic coil system that could produce the plasma of interest. expected to be an issue for the Spallation Neutron Source
共3兲 Modeling of Advanced Diagnostics: To gain a better Project. A valuable finding from these new simulations car-
understanding of the complex processes impacting plasma ried out on powerful MPP platforms is that this potentially
turbulence, theorists, computer scientists, and experimental- troublesome instability can be eliminated with modest axial
ists have recently developed a MPP simulation of the actual momentum spread.
microwave reflectometry diagnostic.45 As illustrated in Fig. Finally, it is important to emphasize the fact that the area
17, the new MPP code models the actual incoming micro- of computational plasma science needs to actively develop
waves reflecting off a target plasma which evolves as its and nurture opportunities for attracting, educating, and re-
turbulence grows. This is interfaced with the latest large- taining bright young talent essential for the future of the
scale microturbulence simulation results described field. While it is encouraging that many of the key advances
earlier.23,24 The characteristic turbulent correlation length can cited in this review have involved major contributions from
be extracted from this reflectometer simulation and com- young scientists, greater efforts are required to educate the
pared with that deduced from the original microturbulence next generation of researchers with capabilities that cross-cut
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PHYSICS OF PLASMAS VOLUME 9, NUMBER 5 MAY 2002

Advanced computations in plasma physicsa…

I. INTRODUCTION cal scaling. This is made possible by the impressive advances

Paper TR1 1, Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 46, 321 共2001兲.

1070-664X/2002/9(5)/1856/17/$19.00 1856 © 2002 American Institute of Physics

FIG. 1. 共Color兲 Fusion energy science is in Pasteur’s Quadrant.

classical statistical mechanics, are well known, obtaining

studies helped motivate subsequent experiments to further

FIG. 9. 共Color兲 Two-dimensional field solutions for conversion of fast ion

codes utilizing the physical models involving particle clo-

transport is likely linked to the ability to deal with magnetic

FIG. 13. 共Color兲 Initial k-spectrum comparisons between recent gas-puff

FIG. 15. 共Color兲 3-D particle-in-cell code simulations of dynamics in the

of processors on massively parallel machines. An example of

plasma fluid problems share many common features with

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