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The purpose of the paper is a research of a 2nd order finite difference scheme based on the Z-scheme. This research is the numerical solution of several two-dimensional differential equations simulated the incompressible medium convection.

One of real tasks for similar equations solution is the numerical simulating of strongly non-stationary midscale processes in the Earth ionosphere. Because convection processes in ionospheric plasma are controlled by magnetic field, the plasma incompressibility condition is supposed across the magnetic field. For the same reason, there can be rather high velocities of heat and mass convection along the magnetic field.

Ionospheric simulation relevant task is the research of plasma instability of various scales which started in polar and equatorial regions first of all. At the same time the mid-scale irregularities having characteristic sizes 1–50 km create conditions for development of the small-scale instabilities. The last lead to the F-spread phenomenon which significantly influences the accuracy of positioning satellite systems work and also other space and ground-based radio-electronic systems.

The difference schemes used for simultaneous simulating of such multi-scale processes must to have high resolution. Besides, these difference schemes must to be high resolution on the one hand and monotonic on the other hand. The fact that instabilities strengthen errors of difference schemes, especially they strengthen errors of dispersion type is the reason of such contradictory requirements. The similar swing of errors usually results to nonphysical results at the numerical solution.

At the numerical solution of three-dimensional mathematical models of ionospheric plasma are used the following scheme of splitting on physical processes: the first step of splitting carries out convection along, the second step of splitting carries out convection across. The 2nd order finite difference scheme investigated in the paper solves approximately convection across equations. This scheme is constructed by a monotonized nonlinear procedure on base of the Z-scheme which is one of 2nd order schemes. At this monotonized procedure a nonlinear correction with so-called “oblique differences” is used. “Oblique differences” contain the grid nodes relating to different layers of time.

The researches were conducted for two cases. In the simulating field components of the convection vector had: 1) the constant sign; 2) the variable sign. Dissipative and dispersive characteristics of the scheme for different types of the limiting functions are in number received.

The results of the numerical experiments allow to draw the following conclusions.

1. For the discontinuous initial profile the best properties were shown by the SuperBee limiter.

2. For the continuous initial profile with the big spatial steps the SuperBee limiter is better, and at the small steps the Koren limiter is better.

3. For the smooth initial profile the best results were shown by the Koren limiter.

4. The smooth F limiter showed the results similar to Koren limiter.

5. Limiters of different type leave dispersive errors, at the same time dependences of dispersive errors on the scheme parameters have big variability and depend on the scheme parameters difficulty.

6. The monotony of the considered differential scheme is in number confirmed in all calculations. The property of variation non-increase for all specified functions limiters is in number confirmed for the onedimensional equation.

7. The constructed differential scheme at the steps on time which are not exceeding the Courant's step is monotonous and shows good exactness characteristics for different types solutions. At excess of the Courant's step the scheme remains steady, but becomes unsuitable for instability problems as monotony conditions not satisfied in this case.

The review considers a wide range of phenomena and problems associated with the explosion. Detailed numerical studies revealed an interesting physical effect — the formation of discrete vortex structures directly behind the front of a shock wave propagating in dense layers of a heterogeneous atmosphere. The necessity of further investigation of such phenomena and the determination of the degree of their connection with the possible development of gas-dynamic instability is shown. The brief analysis of numerous works on the thermal explosion of meteoroids during their high-speed movement in the Earth’s atmosphere is given. Much attention is paid to the development of a numerical algorithm for calculating the simultaneous explosion of several fragments of meteoroids and the features of the development of such a gas-dynamic flow are analyzed. The work shows that earlier developed algorithms for calculating explosions can be successfully used to study explosive volcanic eruptions. The paper presents and discusses the results of such studies for both continental and underwater volcanoes with certain restrictions on the conditions of volcanic activity.

The mathematical analysis is performed and the results of analytical studies of a number of important physical phenomena characteristic of explosions of high specific energy in the ionosphere are presented. It is shown that the preliminary laboratory physical modeling of the main processes that determine these phenomena is of fundamental importance for the development of sufficiently complete and adequate theoretical and numerical models of such complex phenomena as powerful plasma disturbances in the ionosphere. Laser plasma is the closest object for such a simulation. The results of the corresponding theoretical and experimental studies are presented and their scientific and practical significance is shown. The brief review of recent years on the use of laser radiation for laboratory physical modeling of the effects of a nuclear explosion on asteroid materials is given.

As a result of the analysis performed in the review, it was possible to separate and preliminarily formulate some interesting and scientifically significant questions that must be investigated on the basis of the ideas already obtained. These are finely dispersed chemically active systems formed during the release of volcanoes; small-scale vortex structures; generation of spontaneous magnetic fields due to the development of instabilities and their role in the transformation of plasma energy during its expansion in the ionosphere. It is also important to study a possible laboratory physical simulation of the thermal explosion of bodies under the influence of highspeed plasma flow, which has only theoretical interpretations.

The paper presents a physico-mathematical model of the perturbed region formed in the lower D-layer of the ionosphere under the action of directed radio emission flux from a terrestrial stand of the megahertz frequency range, obtained as a result of comprehensive theoretical studies. The model is based on the consideration of a wide range of kinetic processes taking into account their nonequilibrium and in the two-temperature approximation for describing the transformation of the radio beam energy absorbed by electrons. The initial data on radio emission achieved by the most powerful radio-heating stands are taken in the paper. Their basic characteristics and principles of functioning, and features of the altitude distribution of the absorbed electromagnetic energy of the radio beam are briefly described. The paper presents the decisive role of the D-layer of the ionosphere in the absorption of the energy of the radio beam. On the basis of theoretical analysis, analytical expressions are obtained for the contribution of various inelastic processes to the distribution of the absorbed energy, which makes it possible to correctly describe the contribution of each of the processes considered. The work considers more than 60 components. The change of the component concentration describe about 160 reactions. All the reactions are divided into five groups according to their physical content: ionization-chemical block, excitation block of metastable electronic states, cluster block, excitation block of vibrational states and block of impurities. Blocks are interrelated and can be calculated both jointly and separately. The paper presents the behavior of the parameters of the perturbed region in daytime and nighttime conditions is significantly different at the same radio flux density: under day conditions, the maximum electron concentration and temperature are at an altitude of ~45–55 km; in night ~80 km, with the temperature of heavy particles rapidly increasing, which leads to the occurrence of a gas-dynamic flow. Therefore, a special numerical algorithm are developed to solve two basic problems: kinetic and gas dynamic. Based on the altitude and temporal behavior of concentrations and temperatures, the algorithm makes it possible to determine the ionization and emission of the ionosphere in the visible and infrared spectral range, which makes it possible to evaluate the influence of the perturbed region on radio engineering and optoelectronic devices used in space technology.

Experimental, theoretical and numerical investigations of equatorial spread F, equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs), plasma depletion shells, and plasma clouds are continued at new variety articles. Nonlinear growth, bifurcation, pinching, atomic and molecular ion dynamics are considered at there articles. But the authors of this article believe that not all parameters of EPB development are correct. For example, EPB bifurcation is highly questionable.

A maximum speed inside EPBs and a development time of EPB are defined and studied. EPBs starting from one, two or three zones of the increased density (initial plasma clouds). The development mechanism of EPB is the Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI). Time of the initial stage of EPB development went into EPB favorable time interval (in this case the increase linear increment is more than zero) and is 3000–7000 c for the Earth equatorial ionosphere.

Numerous computing experiments were conducted with use of the original two-dimensional mathematical and numerical model MI2, similar USA standard model SAMI2. This model MI2 is described in detail. The received results can be used both in other theoretical works and for planning and carrying out natural experiments for generation of F-spread in Earth ionosphere.

Numerical simulating was carried out for the geophysical conditions favorable for EPBs development. Numerical researches confirmed that development time of EPBs from initial irregularities with the increased density is significantly more than development time from zones of the lowered density. It is shown that developed irregularities interact among themselves strongly and not linearly even then when initial plasma clouds are strongly removed from each other. In addition, this interaction is stronger than interaction of EPBs starting from initial irregularities with the decreased density. The numerical experiments results showed the good consent of developed EPB parameters with experimental data and with theoretical researches of other authors.

The review is based on some of the authors ’early works of particular scientific, methodological and practical interest and the greatest attention is paid to recent works, where quite detailed numerical studies of not only single, but also double and multiple explosions in a wide range of heights and environmental conditions have been performed . Since the shock wave of a powerful explosion is one of the main damaging factors in the lower atmosphere, the review focuses on both the physical analysis of their propagation and their interaction. Using the three-dimensional algorithms developed by the authors, the effects of interference and diffraction of several shock waves, which are interesting from a physical point of view, in the absence and presence of an underlying surface of various structures are considered. Quantitative characteristics are determined in the region of their maximum values, which is of known practical interest. For explosions in a dense atmosphere, some new analytical solutions based on the small perturbation method have been found that are convenient for approximate calculations. For a number of conditions, the possibility of using the self-similar properties of equations of the first and second kind to solve problems on the development of an explosion has been shown.

Based on numerical analysis, a fundamental change in the structure of the development of the perturbed region with a change in the height of the explosion in the range of 100–120 km is shown. At altitudes of more than 120 km, the geomagnetic field begins to influence the development of the explosion; therefore, even for a single explosion, the picture of the plasma flow after a few seconds becomes substantially three-dimensional. For the calculation of explosions at altitudes of 120–1000 km under the guidance of academician A. Kholodov. A special three-dimensional numerical algorithm based on the MHD approximation was developed. Numerous calculations were performed and for the first time a quite detailed picture of the three-dimensional flow of the explosion plasma was obtained with the formation of an upward jet in 5–10 s directed in the meridional plane approximately along the geomagnetic field. After some modification, this algorithm was used to calculate double explosions in the ionosphere, spaced a certain distance. The interaction between them was carried out both by plasma flows and through a geomagnetic field. Some results are given in this review and are described in detail in the original articles.

The second part presents numerical studies of the parameters of the lower ionosphere at altitudes of 40–90 km when heated by powerful high-frequency radio waves of various frequencies and powers. The problem statement is considered in the first part of the article. The main attention is paid to the interrelation between the energy and kinetic parameters of the disturbed $D$-region of the ionosphere in the processes that determine the absorption and transformation of the radio beam energy flux in space and time. The possibility of a significant difference in the behavior of the parameters of the disturbed region in the daytime and at nighttime, both in magnitude and in space-time distribution, is shown. In the absence of sufficiently reliable values of the rate constants for a number of important kinetic processes, numerical studies were carried out in stages with the gradual addition of individual processes and kinetic blocks corresponding at the same time to a certain physical content. It is shown that the energy thresholds for inelastic collisions of electrons with air molecules are the main ones. This approach made it possible to detect the effect of the emergence of a self-oscillating mode of changing parameters if the main channel for energy losses in inelastic processes is the most energy-intensive process — ionization. This effect may play a role in plasma studies using high-frequency inductive and capacitive discharges. The results of calculations of the ionization and optical parameters of the disturbed $D$-region for daytime conditions are presented. The electron temperature, density, emission coefficients in the visible and infrared ranges of the spectrum are obtained for various values of the power of the radio beam and its frequency in the lower ionosphere. The height-time distribution of the absorbed radiation power is calculated, which is necessary in studies of higher layers of the ionosphere. The influence on the electron temperature and on the general behavior of the parameters of energy losses by electrons on the excitation of vibrational and metastable states of molecules has been studied in detail. It is shown that under nighttime conditions, when the electron concentration begins at altitudes of about 80 km, and the concentration of heavy particles decreases by two orders of magnitude compared to the average $D$-region, large-scale gas-dynamic motion can develop with sufficient radio emission power The algorithm was developed based on the McCormack method and two-dimensional gas-dynamic calculations of the behavior of the parameters of the perturbed region were performed with some simplifications of the kinetics.

On the basis of the MGD equations we consider 2D- and 3D- nonstationary problems about the evolution of perturbations in the lower atmosphere and the Earth’s ionosphere which are caused by the movement of large meteoroids along gently sloping paths of the entry with the simulation of their destruction by the momentary increase of the midship at the point of the pressure head maximum. According to the results of our numerical investigation we obtain and analyze the detailed spatial-temporal distributions of the main parameters of the plasma flows from which in particular a number of phenomena that are similar to those seen in the Chelyabinsk phenomenon follow.

The main aim, formulated in the first part of article, is to carry out detailed numerical studies of the chemical, ionization, optical, and temperature characteristics of the lower ionosphere perturbed by powerful radio emission. The brief review of the main experimental and theoretical researches of physical phenomena occurring in the ionosphere when it is heated by high-power high-frequency radio waves from heating facilities is given. The decisive role of the $D$-region of the ionosphere in the absorption of radio beam energy is shown. A detailed analysis of kinetic processes in the disturbed $D$-region, which is the most complex in kinetic terms, has been performed. It is shown that for a complete description of the ionization-chemical and optical characteristics of the disturbed region, it is necessary to take into account more than 70 components, which, according to their main physical content, can be conveniently divided into five groups. A kinetic model is presented to describe changes in the concentrations of components interacting (the total number of reactions is 259). The system of kinetic equations was solved using a semi-implicit numerical method specially adapted to such problems. Based on the proposed structure, a software package was developed in which the algorithm scheme allowed changing both the content of individual program blocks and their number, which made it possible to conduct detailed numerical studies of individual processes in the behavior of the parameters of the perturbed region. The complete numerical algorithm is based on the two-temperature approximation, in which the main attention was paid to the calculation of the electron temperature, since its behavior is determined by inelastic kinetic processes involving electrons. The formulation of the problem is of a rather general nature and makes it possible to calculate the parameters of the disturbed ionosphere in a wide range of powers and frequencies of radio emission. Based on the developed numerical technique, it is possible to study a wide range of phenomena both in the natural and disturbed ionosphere.

The aim of the work is to study a monotone finite-difference scheme of the second order of accuracy, created on the basis of a generalization of the one-dimensional Z-scheme. The study was carried out for model equations of the transfer of an incompressible medium. The paper describes a two-dimensional generalization of the Z-scheme with nonlinear correction, using instead of streams oblique differences containing values from different time layers. The monotonicity of the obtained nonlinear scheme is verified numerically for the limit functions of two types, both for smooth solutions and for nonsmooth solutions, and numerical estimates of the order of accuracy of the constructed scheme are obtained.

The constructed scheme is absolutely stable, but it loses the property of monotony when the Courant step is exceeded. A distinctive feature of the proposed finite-difference scheme is the minimality of its template. The constructed numerical scheme is intended for models of plasma instabilities of various scales in the low-latitude ionospheric plasma of the Earth. One of the real problems in the solution of which such equations arise is the numerical simulation of highly nonstationary medium-scale processes in the earth’s ionosphere under conditions of the appearance of the Rayleigh – Taylor instability and plasma structures with smaller scales, the generation mechanisms of which are instabilities of other types, which leads to the phenomenon F-scattering. Due to the fact that the transfer processes in the ionospheric plasma are controlled by the magnetic field, it is assumed that the plasma incompressibility condition is fulfilled in the direction transverse to the magnetic field.

The paper presents a physical and numerical analysis of the dynamics and radiation of explosion products formed during the Russian-American experiment in the ionosphere using an explosive generator based on hexogen (RDX) and trinitrotoluene (TNT). The main attention is paid to the radiation of the perturbed region and the dynamics of the products of explosion (PE). The detailed chemical composition of the explosion products is analyzed and the initial concentrations of the most important molecules capable of emitting in the infrared range of the spectrum are determined, and their radiative constants are given. The initial temperature of the explosion products and the adiabatic exponent are determined. The nature of the interpenetration of atoms and molecules of a highly rarefied ionosphere into a spherically expanding cloud of products is analyzed. An approximate mathematical model of the dynamics of explosion products under conditions of mixing rarefied ionospheric air with them has been developed and the main thermodynamic characteristics of the system have been calculated. It is shown that for a time of 0,3–3 sec there is a significant increase in the temperature of the scattering mixture as a result of its deceleration. In the problem under consideration the explosion products and the background gas are separated by a contact boundary. To solve this two-region gas dynamic problem a numerical algorithm based on the Lagrangian approach was developed. It was necessary to fulfill special conditions at the contact boundary during its movement in a stationary gas. In this case there are certain difficulties in describing the parameters of the explosion products near the contact boundary which is associated with a large difference in the size of the mass cells of the explosion products and the background due to a density difference of 13 orders of magnitude. To reduce the calculation time of this problem an irregular calculation grid was used in the area of explosion products. Calculations were performed with different adiabatic exponents. The most important result is temperature. It is in good agreement with the results obtained by the method that approximately takes into account interpenetration. The time behavior of the IR emission coefficients of active molecules in a wide range of the spectrum is obtained. This behavior is qualitatively consistent with experiments for the IR glow of flying explosion products.