A full-wave solver of the Maxwell's equations in 3D cold plasmas

A new solver for Maxwell's equations in three-dimensional (3D) plasma configurations is presented. The new code LEMan (Low-frequency ElectroMagnetic wave propagation) determines a global solution of the wave equation in a realistic stellarator geometry at low frequencies. The code is aimed at the applications with relatively small computational resources and is very efficient in the Alfven frequency range. In the present work, the cold plasma model is implemented. Finite elements are applied for the radial discretization and the spectral representation is used for the poloidal and toroidal angles. Special care is taken to avoid the numerical pollution of the spectrum as well as to ensure the energy conservation. The numerical scheme and the convergence properties are discussed. Several benchmarks and results in different geometries are presented. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.