Electron cyclotron drift instability in PIC and Vlasov simulations

The linear and nonlinear characteristics of the electron cyclotron drift instability (ECDI) have been studied through the particle--in--cell (PIC) and continuum Vlasov simulation methods. In the nonlinear regime, more intense ECDI fluctuations were observed in the PIC simulations than the Vlasov simulations, leading to an intensified heating and slightly larger anomalous current. We show that, because the intensity of the fluctuations decreases with increasing the number of macroparticles per cell, this effect is likely a result of the noise in the PIC simulations. In addition, the effect of the azimuthal length (in the E×B direction) is investigated. It is shown that using a larger length, in the PIC and Vlasov simulations, leads to a more accurate linear spectrum which can lead to significant impacts on the nonlinear regime.