Abstract
We report on progress towards the development of a Hall thruster simulation in the axial-azimuthal (z - θ) computational space. Unlike most computational studies of closed-drift Hall accelerators which have been in one dimension (1D) along the axial direction or in two dimensions (2D) in the axial and radial dimensions, and which require some specification of the axial transport mechanism, this z - θ numerical simulation developed here self-consistently evolves the azimuthal electron drift velocity. The simulation is, in principal, capable of capturing correlated azimuthal disturbances in plasma properties which may give rise to cross-field transport, and makes no use of ad-hoc transport models. Preliminary analysis of the results indicates that azimuthal plasma instabilities may contribute to the axial electron transport process.