Symbolic vector analysis in plasma physics

✍ Scribed by H. Qin; W.M. Tang; G. Rewoldt

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 1012 KB
• Volume: 116
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0010-4655
• DOI: 10.1016/s0010-4655(98)00144-1

✦ Synopsis

Many problems in plasma physics involve substantial amounts of analytical vector calculation. The complexity usually originates from both the vector operations themselves and the underlying coordinate systems. A computer algebra package for symbolic vector analysis in general coordinate systems, GeneralVectorAnalysis (GVA), is developed using Murhemaric~~

The modem viewpoint for 3D vector calculus, differential forms on 3-manifolds, is adopted to unify and systematize the vector calculus operations in general coordinate systems. Besides the basic vector analysis functions, the package provides asymptotic capabilities, 2D vector analysis notation, and a simple interface for users to define their own coordinate systems. These features will benefit physicists and applied mathematicians in their research where complicated vector analysis i n complicated coordinate systems is required. Several applications of this symbolic vector analysis package to plasma physics are also given. @ 1999 Elsevier Science B.V.