Provably realizability-preserving finite volume method for quadrature-based moment models of kinetic equations

Abstract: Quadrature-based moment methods (QBMM) provide tractable closures for multiscale kinetic equations, with diverse applications across aerosols, sprays, and particulate flows, etc. However, for the derived hyperbolic moment-closure systems, seeking numerical schemes preserving moment realizability is essential yet challenging due to strong nonlinear coupling and the lack of explicit conservative-to-flux maps. This paper proposes and analyzes a provably realizability-preserving finite-volume method for five-moment systems closed by the two-node Gaussian-EQMOM and three-point HyQMOM. Rather than relying on kinetic fluxes, we recast the realizability condition into a nonnegative quadratic form in the moment vector, reducing the original nonlinear constraints to bilinear inequalities amenable to analysis. On this basis, we construct a tailored Harten--Lax--van Leer (HLL) flux with rigorously derived wave speeds and intermediate states that embed realizability directly into the flux evaluation. We prove sufficient realizability-preserving conditions under explicit Courant--Friedrichs--Lewy (CFL) constraints in the collisionless case, and for BGK relaxation, we obtain coupled time-step conditions involving a realizability radius; a semi-implicit BGK variant inherits the collisionless CFL. From a multiscale perspective, the analysis yields stability conditions uniform in the relaxation time and supports stiff-to-kinetic transitions. A practical limiter enforces strict realizability of reconstructed interface states without degrading accuracy. Numerical experiments demonstrate the accuracy, robustness in low-density regions, and realizability for both closures. This framework unifies realizability preservation for solving hyperbolic moment systems with complex closures and extends naturally to higher-order space--time discretizations.