PPPS-2013: Accommodating large temporal, spatial, and particle weighting demands for simulating vacuum ARC discharge

Summary form only given. We have developed novel modeling approaches for simulation breakdown of vacuum arcs. Initiating an arc in vacuum spans many orders of magnitude in temporal and spatial scales, and number densities. We have developed specific approaches for each of these challenges-some more tested than others. These approaches are implemented in Aleph, a massively parallel 3D unstructured mesh electrostatic PIC-DSMC code. Aleph includes dynamic load balancing, volume chemistry (elastic collisions, charge exchange, ionization, etc.), and a variety of surface mechanisms. Our tool chain allows us to use conformal meshes to CAD geometry, a requirement for production use.