Numerical Accuracy of Finite-Difference Time-Domain Formulations for Magnetized Plasma

Abstract

The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) has been widely used to analyze electromagnetic (EM) wave propagation in complex dispersive media. Over the past three decades, a variety of FDTD approaches for the EM wave propagation in magnetized plasma has been presented. In this work, we perform a comprehensive study on the numerical accuracy of four FDTD formulations for magnetized plasma including the JE convolution (JEC) method, the exponential time differencing (ETD) method, the H-J collocated auxiliary differential equation (ADE) method, and the E-J collocated ADE method. Toward this purpose, the numerical permittivity tensor of magnetized plasma in the four FDTD formulations are derived and then we analyze them to determine which approach can provide the best accuracy. It is found that the E-J collocated ADE method can lead to the best accuracy. Numerical examples awere performed to validate our investigations.