Improving the Efficiency of Maxwell’s Equations FDTD Modeling for Space Weather Applications by Scaling the Speed of Light

Abstract

Space weather can affect the Earth over time spans of hours and days. However, time-stepping increments for FDTD models are typically on the order of a fraction of a second. This paper introduces a means of increasing the time stepping increment’s upper limit by artificially slowing down the speed of light. Numerically slowing down the speed of light is achieved by appropriately modifying the permittivity, permeability, and conductivity values in the model. Proof-of-concept results are provided to show that the method works well for homogeneous media.