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A simple Hamiltonian modeling framework for general models in nonlinear optics is given. This framework is specialized to describe the Hamiltonian structure of electromagnetic phenomena in cubicly nonlinear optical media. The model has a simple Poisson bracket structure with the Hamiltonian encoding all of the nonlinear coupling of the fields. The field-independence of the Poisson bracket facilitates a straightforward Hamiltonian structure-preserving discretization using finite element exterior calculus. The generality and relative simplicity of this Hamiltonian framework makes it amenable for simulating a broad class of time-domain nonlinear optical problems. The main contribution of this work is a finite element discretization of Maxwell's equations in cubicly nonlinear media which is energy-stable and exactly conserves Gauss's laws. Moreover, this approach may be readily adapted to consider more general nonlinear media in subsequent work.

In the presence of an inhomogeneous oscillatory electric field, charged particles experience a net force, averaged over the oscillatory timescale, known as the ponderomotive force. We derive a one-dimensional Hamiltonian model which self-consistently couples the electromagnetic field to a plasma which experiences the ponderomotive force. We derive a family of structure preserving discretizations of the model of varying order in space and time using conforming and broken finite element exterior calculus spectral element methods. In all variants of our discretization framework, the method is found to conserve the Casimir invariants of the continuous model to machine precision and the energy to the order of the splitting method used.

We present a framework for the structure-preserving approximation of partial differential equations on mapped multipatch domains, extending the classical theory of finite element exterior calculus (FEEC) to discrete de Rham sequences which are broken, i.e., fully discontinuous across the patch interfaces. Following the Conforming/Nonconforming Galerkin (CONGA) schemes developed in [http://dx.doi.org/10.1090/mcom/3079, arXiv:2109.02553, our approach is based on: (i) the identification of a conforming discrete de Rham sequence with stable commuting projection operators, (ii) the relaxation of the continuity constraints between patches, and (iii) the construction of conforming projections mapping back to the conforming subspaces, allowing to define discrete differentials on the broken sequence. This framework combines the advantages of conforming FEEC discretizations (e.g. commuting projections, discrete duality and Hodge-Helmholtz decompositions) with the data locality and implementation simplicity of interior penalty methods for discontinuous Galerkin discretizations. We apply it to several initial- and boundary-value problems, as well as eigenvalue problems arising in electromagnetics. In each case our formulations are shown to be well posed thanks to an appropriate stabilization of the jumps across the interfaces, and the solutions are extremely robust with respect to the stabilization parameter. Finally we describe a construction using tensor-product splines on mapped cartesian patches, and we detail the associated matrix operators. Our numerical experiments confirm the accuracy and stability of this discrete framework, and they allow us to verify that expected structure-preserving properties such as divergence or harmonic constraints are respected to floating-point accuracy.

This article studies structure-preserving discretizations of Hilbert complexes with nonconforming spaces that rely on projections onto an underlying conforming subcomplex. This approach follows the conforming/nonconforming Galerkin (CONGA) method introduced in [doi.org/10.1090/mcom/3079, doi.org/10.5802/smai-jcm.20, doi.org/10.5802/smai-jcm.21] to derive efficient structure-preserving finite element schemes for the time-dependent Maxwell and Maxwell-Vlasov systems by relaxing the curl-conforming constraint in finite element exterior calculus (FEEC) spaces. Here, it is extended to the discretization of full Hilbert complexes with possibly nontrivial harmonic fields, and the properties of the CONGA Hodge Laplacian operator are investigated. By using block-diagonal mass matrices which may be locally inverted, this framework possesses a canonical sequence of dual commuting projection operators which are local, and it naturally yields local discrete coderivative operators, in contrast to conforming FEEC discretizations. The resulting CONGA Hodge Laplacian operator is also local, and its kernel consists of the same discrete harmonic fields as the underlying conforming operator, provided that a symmetric stabilization term is added to handle the space nonconformities. Under the assumption that the underlying conforming subcomplex admits a bounded cochain projection, and that the conforming projections are stable with moment-preserving properties, a priori convergence results are established for both the CONGA Hodge Laplace source and eigenvalue problems. Our theory is finally illustrated with a spectral element method, and numerical experiments are performed which corroborate our results. Applications to spline finite elements on multi-patch mapped domains are described in a related article [arXiv:2208.05238] for which the present work provides a theoretical background.

A mimetic spectral element discretization, utilizing a novel Galerkin projection Hodge star operator, of the macroscopic Maxwell equations in Hamiltonian form is presented. The idea of splitting purely topological and metric dependent quantities is natural in the Hamiltonian modeling framework as the Poisson bracket is metric free with the Hamiltonian containing all metric information. This idea may be incorporated into the mimetic spectral element method by directly discretizing the Poincar\'e duality structure. This "split exterior calculus mimetic spectral element method" yields spatially discretized Maxwell's equations which are Hamiltonian and exactly and strongly conserve Gauss's laws. Moreover, the new discrete Hodge star operator is itself of interest as a partition of the purely topological and metric dependent portions of the Hodge star operator. As a simple test case, the numerical results of applying this method to a one-dimensional version of Maxwell's equations are given., Comment: 25 pages, 4 figures

A common strategy in the numerical solution of partial differential equations is to define a uniform discretization of a tensor-product multi-dimensional logical domain, which is mapped to a physical domain through a given coordinate transformation. By extending this concept to a multi-patch setting, simple and efficient numerical algorithms can be employed on relatively complex geometries. The main drawback of such an approach is the inherent difficulty in dealing with singularities of the coordinate transformation. This work suggests a comprehensive numerical strategy for the common situation of disk-like domains with a singularity at a unique pole, where one edge of the rectangular logical domain collapses to one point of the physical domain (for example, a circle). We present robust numerical methods for the solution of Vlasov-like hyperbolic equations coupled to Poisson-like elliptic equations in such geometries. We describe a semi-Lagrangian advection solver that employs a novel set of coordinates, named pseudo-Cartesian coordinates, to integrate the characteristic equations in the whole domain, including the pole, and a finite element elliptic solver based on globally $C^1$ smooth splines (Toshniwal et al., 2017). The two solvers are tested both independently and on a coupled model, namely the 2D guiding-center model for magnetized plasmas, equivalent to a vorticity model for incompressible inviscid Euler fluids. The numerical methods presented show high-order convergence in the space discretization parameters, uniformly across the computational domain, without effects of order reduction due to the singularity. Dedicated tests show that the numerical techniques described can be applied straightforwardly also in the presence of point charges (equivalently, point-like vortices), within the context of particle-in-cell methods.

High-order temporal discretizations for hyperbolic conservation laws have historically been formulated as either a method of lines (MOL) or a Lax-Wendroff method. In the MOL viewpoint, the partial differential equation is treated as a large system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs), where an ODE tailored time-integrator is applied. In contrast, Lax-Wendroff discretizations immediately convert Taylor series in time to discrete spatial derivatives. In this work, we propose the Picard integral formulation (PIF), which is based on the method of modified fluxes, and is used to derive new Taylor and Runge-Kutta (RK) methods. In particular, we construct a new class of conservative finite difference methods by applying WENO reconstructions to the so-called "time-averaged" fluxes. Our schemes are automatically conservative under any modification of the fluxes, which is attributed to the fact that classical WENO reconstructions conserve mass when coupled with forward Euler time steps. The proposed Lax-Wendroff discretization is constructed by taking Taylor series of the flux function as opposed to Taylor series of the conserved variables. The RK discretization differs from classical MOL formulations because we apply WENO reconstructions to time-averaged fluxes rather than taking linear combinations of spatial derivatives of the flux. In both cases, we only need one projection onto the characteristic variables per time step. The PIF is generic, and lends itself to a multitude of options for further investigation. At present, we present two canonical examples: one based on Taylor, and the other based on the classical RK method. Stability analyses are presented for each method. The proposed schemes are applied to hyperbolic conservation laws in one- and two-dimensions and the results are in good agreement with current state of the art methods., Comment: 24 pages

The Convected Scheme (CS) is a `forward-trajectory' semi-Lagrangian method for solution of transport equations, which has been most often applied to the kinetic description of plasmas and rarefied neutral gases. In its simplest form, the CS propagates the solution by advecting the `moving cells' along their characteristic trajectories, and by remapping them on the mesh at the end of the time step. The CS is conservative, positivity preserving, simple to implement, and not subject to time step restriction to maintain stability. Recently [Y. G\"u\c{c}l\"u and W.N.G. Hitchon, 2012] a new methodology was introduced for reducing numerical diffusion, based on a modified equation analysis: the remapping error was compensated by applying small corrections to the final position of the moving cells prior to remapping. While the spatial accuracy was increased from 2nd to 4th order, the new scheme retained the important properties of the original method, and was shown to be simple and efficient for constant advection problems. Here the CS is applied to the solution of the Vlasov-Poisson system: the Vlasov equation is split into two constant advection equations, one in configuration space and one in velocity space, and high order time accuracy is achieved by proper composition of the operators. The splitting procedure enables us to use the constant advection solver, which we extend to arbitrarily high order of accuracy: a new improved procedure is given, which makes the calculation of the corrections straightforward. Focusing on periodic domains, we describe a spectrally accurate scheme based on the fast Fourier transform; the proposed implementation is strictly conservative and positivity preserving. The ability to correctly reproduce the system dynamics, as well as resolving small-scale features in the solution, is shown in classical 1D-1V test cases, both in the linear and the non-linear regimes., Comment: 46 pages, 20 figures

The term `Convected Scheme' (CS) refers to a family of algorithms, most usually applied to the solution of Boltzmann's equation, which uses a method of characteristics in an integral form to project an initial cell forward to a group of final cells. As such the CS is a `forward-trajectory' semi-Lagrangian scheme. For multi-dimensional simulations of neutral gas flows, the cell-centered version of this semi-Lagrangian (CCSL) scheme has advantages over other options due to its implementation simplicity, low memory requirements, and easier treatment of boundary conditions. The main drawback of the CCSL-CS to date has been its high numerical diffusion in physical space, because of the 2$^{\text{nd}}$ order remapping that takes place at the end of each time step. By means of a Modified Equation Analysis, it is shown that a high order estimate of the remapping error can be obtained a priori, and a small correction to the final position of the cells can be applied upon remapping, in order to achieve full compensation of this error. The resulting scheme is 4$^{\text{th}}$ order accurate in space while retaining the desirable properties of the CS: it is conservative and positivity-preserving, and the overall algorithm complexity is not appreciably increased. Two monotone (i.e. non-oscillating) versions of the fourth order CCSL-CS are also presented: one uses a common flux-limiter approach; the other uses a non-polynomial reconstruction to evaluate the derivatives of the density function. The method is illustrated in simple one- and two-dimensional examples, and a fully 3D solution of the Boltzmann equation describing expansion of a gas into vacuum through a cylindrical tube.

Multiderivative time integrators have a long history of development for ordinary differential equations, and yet to date, only a small subset of these methods have been explored as a tool for solving partial differential equations (PDEs). This large class of time integrators include all popular (multistage) Runge-Kutta as well as single-step (multiderivative) Taylor methods. (The latter are commonly referred to as Lax-Wendroff methods when applied to PDEs.) In this work, we offer explicit multistage multiderivative time integrators for hyperbolic conservation laws. Like Lax-Wendroff methods, multiderivative integrators permit the evaluation of higher derivatives of the unknown in order to decrease the memory footprint and communication overhead. Like traditional Runge-Kutta methods, multiderivative integrators admit the addition of extra stages, which introduce extra degrees of freedom that can be used to increase the order of accuracy or modify the region of absolute stability. We describe a general framework for how these methods can be applied to two separate spatial discretizations: the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method and the finite difference essentially non-oscillatory (FD-WENO) method. The two proposed implementations are substantially different: for DG we leverage techniques that are closely related to generalized Riemann solvers; for FD-WENO we construct higher spatial derivatives with central differences. Among multiderivative time integrators, we argue that multistage two-derivative methods have the greatest potential for multidimensional applications, because they only require the flux function and its Jacobian, which is readily available. Numerical results indicate that multiderivative methods are indeed competitive with popular strong stability preserving time integrators., Comment: Journal of Scientific Computing