Solving Triad Reduced Interactions for Drift Kinetic Equations

Abstract

We present the TRIDK code, which is written in Python, that solves Triad Reduced Interactions for a Drift Kinetic system of equations. The four-dimensional drift kinetic system of equations captures nonlinear electromagnetic (or electrostatic) interactions for a magnetized plasma at scales larger than the ion gyroradius. In the TRIDK code, the nonlinear interaction are modelled using a compound of nested icosahedra-dodecohedra shells in wave space, which allows to perform computationally efficient simulations over a large span of scales. This reduced approach captures essential nonlinear dynamics, while allowing parallel mixing in velocity space to take place. The intent is to offer a cost efficient way to probe the balance between linear and nonlinear dynamics, and analyse the interplay between linear Landau damping and turbulence.