The dissipation induced by coulomb-collisional scattering provides an irreducible minimum, and thus a useful standard for comparison, for transport processes in a hot, magnetically confined plasma. The kinetic description of this dissipation is provided by an equation of the Fokker-Planck form. As in the standard transport theory for a neutral gas, approximate solution of the Fokker-Planck equation permits the calculation of transport coefficients, which linearly relate the fluxes of particles, energy, and electric charge, to the density and temperature gradients, and to the electric field. The transport relations are useful in studying the confinement properties of present and future experimental devices for research in controlled thermonuclear fusion. The transport theory for a magnetized plasma (in which the Larmor radius is much smaller than gradient scale lengths describing the plasma fluid) departs from the theory for a neutral gas in several fundamental ways. Thus, transport coefficients for a magnetized plasma can be calculated even when the collisional mean free path is much longer than the gradient scale length (as would pertain in thermonuclear regimes). Such transport coefficients are generally nonlocal, being defined in terms of averages over surfaces with macroscopic dimensions. Furthermore, when the mean free path is long, the magnetized-plasma transport coefficients depend crucially upon the magnetic field geometry, the effects of which must be treated at the kinetic level of the Fokker-Planck equation. The results display several novel couplings between collisional dissipation and the electromagnetic field. The present review of magnetized-plasma transport theory is intended to be as widely accessible as possible. Thus the relevant features of magnetic confinement in closed (toroidal) systems, and of charged particles in spatially varying fields, are derived, at least in outline, from first principles. Although consideration is given to "classical" transport in which most field geometric effects are omitted, major emphasis is placed on the "neoclassical" theory which has been developed over the last decade. Neoclassical transport coefficients are specifically relevant to a magnetically confined plasma, rather than to just a magnetized plasma; their unusual features, such as nonlocality and geometry dependence, become particularly important in the high temperature regime of proposed thermonuclear reactors. The area of neoclassical theory which seems most complete---its application to axisymmetric tokamak-type confinement systems---is correspondingly stressed.

/pdf/theory-of-plasma-transport-in-toroidal-confinement-systems-3zu124w3dl.pdf

Theory of plasma transport in toroidal confinement systems

The relation of magnetic helicity to the topological structure of field lines is discussed If space is divided into a collection of flux tubes, magnetic helicity arises from internal structure within a flux tube, such as twist and kinking, and external relations between flux tubes, ie linking and knotting The concepts of twist number and writhing number are introduced from the mathematical-biology literature to describe the contributions to helicity from twist about the axis of a flux tube, and from the structure of the axes themselvesThere exists no absolute measure of the helicity within a subvolume of space if that subvolume is not bounded by a magnetic surface However, a topologically meaningful and gauge-invariant relative measure of helicity for such volumes is presented here The time derivative of this relative measure is calculated, which leads to an expression for the flow of topological structure across boundaries

The topological properties of magnetic helicity

Measurements of the total energy, cross helicity, and magnetic helicity of the solar wind at 1, 2.8, and 5 AU are presented. These quantities are the three rugged invariants of three-dimensional ideal incompressible MHD turbulence theory. The theoretical technique for measuring the magnetic helicity from the matrix of two-point correlations is shown. The length scales characterizing the magnetic helicity are found to be equal to or greater than those which characterize the magnetic energy. The magnetic helicity typically lies at scales larger than the magnetic correlation length, consistent with the expectations of the inverse cascade and selective decay hypotheses of three-dimensional MHD turbulence. At smaller scales, the magnetic helicity oscillates in sign. Measurements of the cross helicity are not fully consistent with the usual interpretation in terms of outward propagating Alfvenic functions. Especially during the interval at 5 AU the cross helicity is found to oscillate in sign indicating fluctuations propagating both outward and inward.

Measurement of the rugged invariants of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in the solar wind

This paper presents a theoretical framework for understanding plasma turbulence in astrophysical plasmas. It is motivated by observations of electromagnetic and density fluctuations in the solar wind, interstellar medium and galaxy clusters, as well as by models of particle heating in accretion disks. All of these plasmas and many others have turbulent motions at weakly collisional and collisionless scales. The paper focuses on turbulence in a strong mean magnetic field. The key assumptions are that the turbulent fluctuations are small compared to the mean field, spatially anisotropic with respect to it and that their frequency is low compared to the ion cyclotron frequency. The turbulence is assumed to be forced at some system-specific outer scale. The energy injected at this scale has to be dissipated into heat, which ultimately cannot be accomplished without collisions. A kinetic cascade develops that brings the energy to collisional scales both in space and velocity. The nature of the kinetic cascade in various scale ranges depends on the physics of plasma fluctuations that exist there. There are four special scales that separate physically distinct regimes: the electron and ion gyroscales, the mean free path and the electron diffusion scale. In each of the scale ranges separated by these scales, the fully kinetic problem is systematically reduced to a more physically transparent and computationally tractable system of equations, which are derived in a rigorous way. In the inertial range above the ion gyroscale, the kinetic cascade separates into two parts: a cascade of Alfvenic fluctuations and a passive cascade of density and magnetic-field-strength fluctuations. The former are governed by the reduced magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) equations at both the collisional and collisionless scales; the latter obey a linear kinetic equation along the (moving) field lines associated with the Alfvenic component (in the collisional limit, these compressive fluctuations become the slow and entropy modes of the conventional MHD). In the dissipation range below ion gyroscale, there are again two cascades: the kinetic-Alfven-wave (KAW) cascade governed by two fluid-like electron reduced magnetohydrodynamic (ERMHD) equations and a passive cascade of ion entropy fluctuations both in space and velocity. The latter cascade brings the energy of the inertial-range fluctuations that was Landau-damped at the ion gyroscale to collisional scales in the phase space and leads to ion heating. The KAW energy is similarly damped at the electron gyroscale and converted into electron heat. Kolmogorov-style scaling relations are derived for all of these cascades. The relationship between the theoretical models proposed in this paper and astrophysical applications and observations is discussed in detail.

/pdf/astrophysical-gyrokinetics-kinetic-and-fluid-turbulent-48o03f94s0.pdf

Astrophysical Gyrokinetics: Kinetic and Fluid Turbulent Cascades in Magnetized Weakly Collisional Plasmas

Magnetic clouds observed at 1 AU are modeled as cylindrically symmetric, constant alpha force-free magnetic fields. The model satisfactorily explains the types of variations of the magnetic field direction that are observed as a magnetic cloud moves past a spacecraft in terms of the possible orientations of the axis of a magnetic cloud. The model also explains why the magnetic field strength is observed to be higher inside a magnetic cloud than near its boundaries. However, the model predicts that the magnetic field strength profile should be symmetric with respect to the axis of the magnetic cloud, whereas observations show that this is not generally the case.

Magnetic clouds and force-free fields with constant alpha

A strong external dc magnetic field introduces a basic anisotropy into incompressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. The modifications that this is likely to produce in the properties of the turbulence are explored for the high Reynolds number case. The conclusion is reached that the turbulent spectrum splits into two parts: an essentially two dimensional spectrum with both the velocity field and magnetic fluctuations perpendicular to the dc magnetic field, and a generally weaker and more nearly isotropic spectrum of Alfven waves. A minimal characterization of the spectral density tensors is given. Similarities to measurements from the Culham-Harwell Zeta pinch device and the UCLA Macrotor Tokamak are remarked upon, as are certain implications for the Belcher and Davis measurements of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in the solar wind.

/pdf/anisotropic-magnetohydrodynamic-turbulence-in-a-strong-1iazb8d2fz.pdf

Anisotropic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in a strong external magnetic field

Ideal magnetohydrodynamic turbulence is treated using more realistic boundary conditions than rectangular periodic boundary conditions. The dynamical equations of incompressible magnetohydrodynamics and the associated fields are expanded in a set of vector eigenfunctions of the curl. The individual eigenfunctions represent force‐free fields, but superpositions of them do not. Three integral invariants have simple quadratic expressions in the expansion coefficients: the total energy, the magnetic helicity, and the cross helicity. The invariants remain temporally constant in the face of a truncation at a large but finite number of coefficients. Boundary conditions imposed are those for a rigid, perfectly‐conducting cylindrical boundary, with an arbitrary periodicity length parallel to the axis. Canonical distributions are constructed from the invariants. Mean‐square turbulent velocity fields 〈v2〉 have finite values for virtually all initial conditions, including quiescient ones. The stability problem can be reformulated as a search for values of the integral invariants which will minimize 〈v2〉. This leads to a principle of extremal helicity, which requires a magnetic configuration which will minimize 〈v2〉 for a given total energy. The development of helical macroscopic structures in the cylinder as a function of increasing ratio of axial current to axial magnetic flux is predicted.

Three‐dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in cylindrical geometry

A generalized vorticity is introduced whose self-linkage (the hybrid helicity) and flux are invariants of ideal incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) when the Hall term is included. A model of magnetofluid relaxation is constructed for Hall magnetohydrodynamics by assuming that the energy seeks the minimum value compatible with constrained values of magnetic helicity, hybrid helicity, axial magnetic flux, and fluid vorticity flux. As a result of the coupling of magnetic field to fluid vorticity in the generalized vorticity, it is found that the relaxed magnetic-field configuration need not be force free. The presence of a nonvanishing fluid vorticity is shown to be necessary for the existence of relaxed magnetic-field configurations that confine a finite plasma pressure. The study has potential relevance to the dynamics and morphology of space and cosmic plasmas, as well as to pressure confinement and current drive in fusion plasmas.

Hall Effects on Magnetic Relaxation

Use of Single-Pion Production to Remove Ambiguities in Partially Conserved Axial-Vector Current and Current-Algebra Predictions of pi-pi Scattering

A fluid model is used to study analytically the equilibria of charged plasma in traps. Several geometries are explored: a one‐dimensional slab equilibrium of a finite‐temperature plasma mechanically confined by two plates that are externally maintained at fixed potentials, and both spherical as well as spheroidal equilibria of a zero‐temperature plasma confined in traps distorted from the standard Penning‐trap configuration by virtue of the multipole moments of the trapped plasma. Although this study was motivated by the necessity of understanding possible collective effects in charged‐plasma traps for the design and future diagnosis of the ambitious antiproton‐gravity experiment being undertaken by the Los Alamos Collaboration [Proceedings of the Second Conference on the Intersections between Particle and Nuclear Physics (American Institute of Physics, New York, 1986), AIP Pub. No. 150, p. 436], this study is also relevant to current and future attempts at producing strongly coupled plasmas and ionic cry...

Leaf Turner

Papers

Anisotropic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in a strong external magnetic field

Three‐dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in cylindrical geometry

Hall Effects on Magnetic Relaxation

Use of Single-Pion Production to Remove Ambiguities in Partially Conserved Axial-Vector Current and Current-Algebra Predictions of pi-pi Scattering

Collective effects on equilibria of trapped charged plasmas