Intercode Comparison Of Gyrokinetic Global Electromagnetic Modes

Aiming to fill a corresponding lack of sophisticated test cases for global electromagnetic gyrokinetic codes, a new hierarchical benchmark is proposed. Starting from established test sets with adiabatic electrons, fully gyrokinetic electrons, and electrostatic fluctuations are taken into account before finally studying the global electromagnetic micro-instabilities. Results from up to five codes involving representatives from different numerical approaches as particle-in-cell methods, Eulerian and Semi-Lagrangian are shown. By means of spectrally resolved growth rates and frequencies and mode structure comparisons, agreement can be confirmed on ion-gyro-radius scales, thus providing confidence in the correct implementation of the underlying equations.