English

Compton scattering in particle-in-cell codes

Computational Physics 2020-10-28 v2 Plasma Physics

Abstract

We present a Monte Carlo collisional scheme that models single Compton scattering between leptons and photons in particle-in-cell codes. The numerical implementation of Compton scattering can deal with macro-particles of different weights and conserves momentum and energy in each collision. Our scheme is validated through two benchmarks for which exact analytical solutions exist: the inverse Compton spectra produced by an electron scattering with an isotropic photon gas and the photon-electron gas equilibrium described by the Kompaneets equation. It opens new opportunities for numerical investigation of plasma phenomena where a significant population of high energy photons is present in the system.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2004.11404,
  title  = {Compton scattering in particle-in-cell codes},
  author = {F. Del Gaudio and T. Grismayer and R. A. Fonseca and L. O. Silva},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2004.11404},
  year   = {2020}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-23T15:03:46.628Z