Rendering Plasma Phenomena: Applications and Challenges

Plasmas are ubiquitous in the Universe. An understanding of plasma phenomena is therefore of importance in almost every area of astrophysics, from stellar atmospheres to star clusters. Plasmas also occur in daily life both in industrial processes and in consumer products. Recent groundbreaking data is making this the golden age of plasma science. Although direct observations and analysis of data provide important physical evidence for plasma phenomena, they do not necessarily explain the phenomena. Hence, recent discoveries in this area might not only arise out of observations, but also from visual simulations of the phenomena supported by advanced rendering technologies. This report describes the state of art of such simulations, and examines practical issues often overlooked in the literature. Educational and public outreach applications are also discussed. Although the emphasis is on the predictive rendering of plasma processes, the simulation guidelines and trade-offs addressed in this report can be extended to other types of natural phenomena. The report closes with a discussion of further avenues of research involving the visual simulation of plasma phenomena.