A splitting method for numerical relativistic magnetohydrodynamics

We describe a novel splitting approach to numerical relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD) designed to expand its applicability to the domain of ultrahigh magnetization (high-σ). In this approach, the electromagnetic field is split into the force-free component and its perturbation due to the plasma inertia. Accordingly, the system of RMHD equations is extended to include the subsystem of force-free degenerate electrodynamics and the subsystem governing the plasma dynamics and the perturbation of the force-free field. The combined system of conservation laws is integrated simultaneously, to which aim various numerical techniques can be used, and the force-free field is recombined with its perturbation at the end of every time-step. To explore the potential of this splitting approach, we combined it with a third-order weighted essentially non-oscillatory method, and carried out a variety of 1D and 2D test simulations. The simulations confirm the robustness of the splitting method in the high-σ regime, and also show that it remains accurate in the low-σ regime, all the way down to σ = 0. Thus, the method can be used for simulating complex astrophysical flows involving a wide range of physical parameters. The numerical resistivity of the code obeys a simple ansatz and allows fast magnetic reconnection in the plasmoid-dominated regime. The results of simulations involving thin and long current sheets agree very well with the theory of resistive magnetic reconnection.