Fragmentation with discontinuous Galerkin schemes: non-linear fragmentation

Small grains play an essential role in astrophysical processes such as chemistry, radiative transfer, and gas/dust dynamics. The population of small grains is mainly maintained by the fragmentation process due to colliding grains. An accurate treatment of dust fragmentation is required in numerical modelling. However, current algorithms for solving fragmentation equation suffer from an overdiffusion in the conditions of 3D simulations. To tackle this challenge, we developed a discontinuous Galerkin scheme to solve efficiently the non-linear fragmentation equation with a limited number of dust bins.

Automated summary

Small grains are crucial in astrophysical processes and their population is maintained by fragmentation due to collisions. However, current algorithms for solving the fragmentation equation suffer from overdiffusion in 3D simulations. To address this challenge, we have developed a discontinuous Galerkin scheme to efficiently solve the non-linear fragmentation equation with a limited number of dust bins.