Double Leap-Frog Method for Large-Time-Step Particle Simulation to Keep Larmor Radius Small

A modified leap-frog (LF) scheme is presented that keeps the correct Larmor radius even in case of a large time step.t compared to the cyclotron period Omega(-1), Omega Delta t >> 1, for the particle simulation of a plasma in the strong magnetic field. The Larmor radius simulated by the conventional LF method becomes very large for Omega Delta t >> 1, and such a numerical condition has been avoided in general. If the LF method is applicable to such situations, new particle simulation codes can be more easily developed for a wide area of plasma physics. By repeating the LF steps doubly and adopting the averaged velocity to advance the particle position, the Larmor radius is kept real independently of the Omega Delta t value. Proper nature on the energy conservation, magnetic moment conservation and drift-velocity realization is safely inherited from the LF method.