A fully implicit, asymptotic-preserving, semi-Lagrangian algorithm for the time dependent anisotropic heat transport equation

In this paper, we extend the operator-split asymptotic-preserving, semi-Lagrangian algorithm for time dependent anisotropic heat transport equation proposed in [Chacón et al., JCP, 272, 719-746, 2014] to use a fully implicit time integration with backward differentiation formulas. The proposed implicit method can deal with arbitrary heat-transport anisotropy ratios χ_{\parallel}/χ_{\perp}\ggg1 (with χ_{\parallel}, χ_{\perp} the parallel and perpendicular heat diffusivities, respectively) in complicated magnetic field topologies in an accurate and efficient manner. The implicit algorithm is second-order accurate temporally, has favorable positivity preservation properties, and demonstrates an accurate treatment at boundary layers (e.g., island separatrices), which was not ensured by the operator-split implementation. The condition number of the resulting algebraic system is independent of the anisotropy ratio, and is inverted with preconditioned GMRES. We propose a simple preconditioner that renders the linear system compact, resulting in mesh-independent convergence rates for topologically simple magnetic fields, and convergence rates scaling as \sim(NΔt)^{1/4} (with N the total mesh size and Δt the timestep) in topologically complex magnetic-field configurations. We demonstrate the accuracy and performance of the approach with test problems of varying complexity, including an analytically tractable boundary-layer problem in a straight magnetic field, and a topologically complex magnetic field featuring magnetic islands with extreme anisotropy ratios (χ_{\parallel}/χ_{\perp}=10^{10}).