Guiding center motion in tokamaks

Youjun Hu
Institute of plasma physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Email: yjhu@ipp.cas.cn

May 29, 2023

Abstract

This note discusses numerical computation of guiding center orbits in tokamaks using cylindrical coordinates and several magnetic coordinates. Some subtle things involved in using a particular kind of magnetic coordinates called field-line-following coordinates are discussed (I am using this kind of coordinates in developing a new module in GEM code). We assume a general tokamak magnetic field specified numerically (provided by the EFIT G-file). This note is evolving, beginning with my first try of computing guiding-center motion in Solovev analytical equilibrium using cylindrical coordinates, and then extending to general numerical magnetic field, and later using magnetic coordinates.

 

1 Equations of guiding-center motion
 1.1 Define new units
2 Equation of guiding-center motion in field-line-following coordinates
3 Equations of motion in cylindrical coordinates
4 Code Benchmarking
 4.1 Initial conditions
 4.2 Constants of motion
5 Orbit classification
 5.1 Numerically testing orbit types
 5.2 Trapped passing boundary in the zero-orbit-width limit
 5.3 Trapped particle fraction
 5.4 Bounce frequency of deeply trapped particles
 5.5 Bounce frequency of barely trapped particles
 5.6 Methods of determining drift orbits
 5.7 Toroidal procession
 5.8 Radial drift –check!!
 5.9 Width of guiding center orbit
 5.10 3D trajectory of guiding-center
6 Numerical results of prompt loss of fast ions
7 Use constants of motion to determine orbit loss
 7.1 Critical velocity for ions to touch a boundary
 7.2 Large aspect ratio equilibrium
8 Equations of guiding-center motion—outdated, will be deleted
 8.1 Equilibrium magnetic field in tokamak
References