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Section: Partnerships and Cooperations
European Initiatives
FP7 & H2020 Projects
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Project title: Numerical integration of Geometric Partial Differential Equations
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Abstract: The goal of this project is to develop new numerical methods for the approximation of evolution equations possessing strong geometric properties such as Hamiltonian systems or stochastic differential equations. In such situations the exact solutions endow with many physical properties that are consequences of the geometric structure: Preservation of the total energy, momentum conservation or existence of ergodic invariant measures. However the preservation of such qualitative properties of the original system by numerical methods at a reasonable cost is not guaranteed at all, even for very precise (high order) methods. The principal aim of geometric numerical integration is the understanding and analysis of such problems: How (and to which extend) reproduce qualitative behavior of differential equations over long time? The extension of this theory to partial differential equations is a fundamental ongoing challenge, which require the invention of a new mathematical framework bridging the most recent techniques used in the theory of nonlinear PDEs and stochastic ordinary and partial differential equations. The development of new efficient numerical schemes for geometric PDEs has to go together with the most recent progress in analysis (stability phenomena, energy transfers, multiscale problems, etc..) The major challenges of the project are to derive new schemes by bridging the world of numerical simulation and the analysis community, and to consider deterministic and stochastic equations, with a general aim at deriving hybrid methods. We also aim to create a research platform devoted to extensive numerical simulations of difficult academic PDEs in order to highlight new nonlinear phenomena and test numerical methods.
Erwan Faou was the principal investigator of the ERC Starting Grant Project Geopardi (2011-2016).
Between 2011 and 2016, Erwan Faou was the principal investigator of this ERC Starting grant project. This research project is centered on the numerical simulation of geometric evolution partial differential equations (PDEs). Typical examples are given by Hamiltonian Partial Differential Equations (PDE) such as wave equations in nonlinear propagations problems, Schrödinger equations in quantum mechanics, or Vlasov equations in plasma physics. The main goals of the project can be summarized as follows:
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Analyze numerical schemes for Hamiltonian PDEs and stochastic differential equations as mathematical objects in their own right, and study their global behavior (invariant preservation, ergodicity with respect to some invariant measure, averaging properties, scattering, etc...)
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Develop new numerical methods in connection with the most recent advances in the theoretical studies, and devoted to specific situations (high frequency computations, stochastic and hybrid methods, Vlasov and Euler equations). In particular, an important objective is the analysis of the long time behavior of these equations.
The main originality of the Geopardi project is the combination of rigorous nonlinear analysis, numerical analysis and numerical simulations, as well as its hybrid nature mixing deterministic and stochastic problems. The project has an excellent international visibility. The participants have been invited in many conferences to present their works in the last year (Scicade 13 & 15, Numdiff 13, workhops in Toronto, Harvard, IHES, Oberwolfach or Luminy, etc..). The research outcomes are published in high level international journals such as J. Amer. Math. Soc., Numer. Math., SIAM J. Numer. Anal. or Math. Comp. The project has also been used to invite collaborators and researcher to visit Inria. In particular, E. Faou organized with T. Lelièvre and J. Erhel in september 2013 the NASPDE conference whose main topic is the numerical simulation of stochastic PDEs, and that was mainly funded by the Geopardi project.
Collaborations in European Programs, Except FP7 & H2020
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Project title: Verification and development of new algorithms for gyrokinetic codes
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Coordinator: Eric Sonnenndrücker (Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik (IPP), Germany)
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Other partners: IPP (Germany), EPFL (Switzerland), CEA-Cadarache (France), university of Strasbourg, Toulouse, Marseille, Paris 6 (France).
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Abstract: Gyrokinetic codes play a major role in understanding the development and saturation of micro- turbulence in a magnetic fusion plasma and its influence on energy confinement time. The first aim of this proposal is to assess the reliability of gyrokinetic codes by extensive verification and benchmarking. All the major european gyrokinetic codes are involved in the proposal and this will enable them to define comparison elements, which ultimately will also facilitate the cross-validation of new physics. On the other hand we will develop new algorithms for extending the physics capabilities or the computational efficiency of different gyrokinetic codes. Finally we will also perform a prospective investigation of models and numerical methods that could help in the future to address physics where kinetic effects might play an important role but that cannot be handled with today's gyrokinetic codes, like L-H (low to high confinement) transition, edge physics or MHD time scales simulations.