PHY653 · Computational EM & Plasma Physics
A knowledge wiki for PHY653: Computational Electromagnetics and Plasma Physics —
Thammasat University graduate course. From import numpy to a working
particle-in-cell plasma simulation, in five chapters — rebuilt here as a cross-linked
knowledge system.
The course in one paragraph
Plasma physics is the study of a self-consistent feedback loop: charged particles move according to the Lorentz force, and their motion creates the very fields that push them (Maxwell's equations). This course builds the computational machinery for both halves — first time integrators for particle motion (from forward Euler to the symplectic leapfrog), then the drift theory they let us verify, then finite-difference field solvers (Poisson and FDTD), and finally the synthesis: N-body and particle-in-cell simulation of the two-stream instability.
Learning path
| Chapter | Topics |
|---|---|
| 1 · Foundations | Why simulate plasmas? · Lorentz force · Rutherford scattering |
| 2 · Time integration | ODE framework → Forward Euler → Backward Euler → Leapfrog → Runge–Kutta → Convergence |
| 3 · Single-particle motion | Guiding center & drifts → E×B · ∇B & curvature → Magnetic mirror → Fermi acceleration |
| 4 · Field solvers | Finite differences → Poisson solvers → FDTD → Double slit |
| 5 · Many-particle systems | N-body → PIC method → Two-stream instability |
Jump in
- Concept graph — dependency map of the course
- Glossary — every technical term
- Worked examples — benchmark problems, fully solved
- Quizzes — three difficulty levels
- Simulations — including a live integrator-comparison widget
Companion courses
The physics behind these algorithms lives in the PC368 plasma wiki (drifts, waves, instabilities from theory) and the numerical fluid connection in the PC316 fluids wiki.