Numerically Stable and Computationally Efficient Expression for the Magnetic Field of a Current Loop

In this work, it is demonstrated that straightforward implementations of the well-known textbook expressions of the off-axis magnetic field of a current loop are numerically unstable in a large region of interest. Specifically, close to the axis of symmetry and at large distances from the loop, comp...

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Main Authors: Michael Ortner, Peter Leitner, Florian Slanovc
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-12-01
Series:Magnetism
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8724/3/1/2
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author Michael Ortner
Peter Leitner
Florian Slanovc
author_facet Michael Ortner
Peter Leitner
Florian Slanovc
author_sort Michael Ortner
collection DOAJ
description In this work, it is demonstrated that straightforward implementations of the well-known textbook expressions of the off-axis magnetic field of a current loop are numerically unstable in a large region of interest. Specifically, close to the axis of symmetry and at large distances from the loop, complete loss of accuracy happens surprisingly fast. The origin of the instability is catastrophic numerical cancellation, which cannot be avoided with algebraic transformations. All exact expressions found in the literature exhibit similar instabilities. We propose a novel exact analytic expression, based on Bulirsch’s complete elliptic integral, which is numerically stable (15–16 significant figures in 64 bit floating point arithmetic) everywhere. Several field approximation methods (dipole, Taylor expansions, Binomial series) are studied in comparison with respect to accuracy, numerical stability and computation performance. In addition to its accuracy and global validity, the proposed method outperforms the classical solution, and even most approximation schemes in terms of computational efficiency.
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spelling doaj.art-ed739aaa35be483a9156822f9a9255bc2023-11-17T12:16:15ZengMDPI AGMagnetism2673-87242022-12-0131113110.3390/magnetism3010002Numerically Stable and Computationally Efficient Expression for the Magnetic Field of a Current LoopMichael Ortner0Peter Leitner1Florian Slanovc2Magnetic Microsystem Technologies, Silicon Austria Labs, 9500 Villach, AustriaMagnetic Microsystem Technologies, Silicon Austria Labs, 9500 Villach, AustriaMagnetic Microsystem Technologies, Silicon Austria Labs, 9500 Villach, AustriaIn this work, it is demonstrated that straightforward implementations of the well-known textbook expressions of the off-axis magnetic field of a current loop are numerically unstable in a large region of interest. Specifically, close to the axis of symmetry and at large distances from the loop, complete loss of accuracy happens surprisingly fast. The origin of the instability is catastrophic numerical cancellation, which cannot be avoided with algebraic transformations. All exact expressions found in the literature exhibit similar instabilities. We propose a novel exact analytic expression, based on Bulirsch’s complete elliptic integral, which is numerically stable (15–16 significant figures in 64 bit floating point arithmetic) everywhere. Several field approximation methods (dipole, Taylor expansions, Binomial series) are studied in comparison with respect to accuracy, numerical stability and computation performance. In addition to its accuracy and global validity, the proposed method outperforms the classical solution, and even most approximation schemes in terms of computational efficiency.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8724/3/1/2magnetic fieldcurrent loopanalytic solutionnumerical stabilitycomputation performance
spellingShingle Michael Ortner
Peter Leitner
Florian Slanovc
Numerically Stable and Computationally Efficient Expression for the Magnetic Field of a Current Loop
Magnetism
magnetic field
current loop
analytic solution
numerical stability
computation performance
title Numerically Stable and Computationally Efficient Expression for the Magnetic Field of a Current Loop
title_full Numerically Stable and Computationally Efficient Expression for the Magnetic Field of a Current Loop
title_fullStr Numerically Stable and Computationally Efficient Expression for the Magnetic Field of a Current Loop
title_full_unstemmed Numerically Stable and Computationally Efficient Expression for the Magnetic Field of a Current Loop
title_short Numerically Stable and Computationally Efficient Expression for the Magnetic Field of a Current Loop
title_sort numerically stable and computationally efficient expression for the magnetic field of a current loop
topic magnetic field
current loop
analytic solution
numerical stability
computation performance
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8724/3/1/2
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AT florianslanovc numericallystableandcomputationallyefficientexpressionforthemagneticfieldofacurrentloop