Generation of $N$-particle kappa-distributed velocities via superstatistical Gibbs sampling
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: The \emph{kappa} distribution is widely used to model heavy-tailed, non-equilibrium velocity distributions in space and laboratory plasmas. Its correct use in particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations requires more than sampling the single-particle marginal: the $N$-particle \emph{kappa} distribution predicts non-trivial correlations between the kinetic energies of particles. Building on the superstatistical structure, we implement a Gibbs sampler whose stationary distribution is the joint distribution of the velocities and $β$, so that the sampled velocities follow the $N$-particle \emph{kappa} distribution and reproduce these correlations by construction.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Institutions: Universidad Andrés Bello, Comisión Chilena de Energía Nuclear
Language: English
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7223012146