We present SUPERBOX, a particle-mesh code with high resolution sub-grids and
an NGP (nearest grid point) force-calculation scheme based on the second
derivatives of the potential. Image implements a fast low-storage
FFT-algorithm, giving the possibility to work with millions of particles on
desk-top computers. Test calculations show energy and angular momentum
conservation to one part in 105 per crossing-time. The effects of grid and
numerical relaxation remain negligible, even when these calculations cover
a Hubble-time of evolution. As the sub-grids follow the trajectories of
individual galaxies, the code allows a highly resolved treatment of
interactions in clusters of galaxies, such as high-velocity encounters
between elliptical galaxies and the tidal disruption of dwarf galaxies.
Excellent agreement is obtained in a comparison with a direct-summation
N-body code running on special-purpose GRAPE3 hardware. The orbital decay
of satellite galaxies due to dynamical friction obtained with SUPERBOX agrees
with Chandrasekhar's treatment when the Coulomb logarithm is ln Lambda = 1.5.
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