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Steady plasma flows in a periodic non-symmetric domain

Part of: Focus on Fusion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2021

Harold Weitzner Open the ORCID record for Harold Weitzner [Opens in a new window]  and
Wrick Sengupta Open the ORCID record for Wrick Sengupta [Opens in a new window]
Harold Weitzner
Affiliation:
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, NY 10012, USA
Wrick Sengupta*
Affiliation:
Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08543, USA Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
*
†Email address for correspondence: wricksg@gmail.com
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Abstract

Steady plasma flows have been studied almost exclusively in systems with continuous symmetry or in open domains. In the absence of continuous symmetry, the lack of a conserved quantity makes the study of flows intrinsically challenging. In a toroidal domain, the requirement of double periodicity for physical quantities adds to the complications. In particular, the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) model of plasma steady state with the flow in a non-symmetric toroidal domain allows the development of singularities when the rotational transform of the magnetic field is rational, much like the equilibrium MHD model. In this work, we show that steady flows can still be maintained provided the rotational transform is close to rational and the magnetic shear is weak. We extend the techniques developed in carrying out perturbation methods to all orders for static MHD equilibrium by Weitzner (Phys. Plasmas, vol. 21, 2014, p. 022515) to MHD equilibrium with flows. We construct perturbative MHD equilibrium in a doubly periodic domain with nearly parallel flows by systematically eliminating magnetic resonances order by order. We then utilize an additional symmetry of the flow problem, first discussed by Hameiri (J. Math. Phys., vol. 22, 1981, pp. 2080–2088, § III), to obtain a generalized Grad–Shafranov equation for a class of non-symmetric three-dimensional MHD equilibrium with flows both parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field. For this class of flows, we can obtain non-symmetric generalizations of integrals of motion, such as Bernoulli's function and angular momentum. Finally, we obtain the generalized Hamada conditions, which are necessary to suppress singular currents in such a system when the magnetic field lines are closed. We do not attempt to address the question of neoclassical damping of flows.

Keywords

gas dynamicsplasmas
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Plasma Physics , Volume 87 , Issue 6 , December 2021 , 905870603
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

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