Numerical modeling of Large Plasma Device Alfven wave experiments using AstroGK

Journal Article · Mon Feb 15 04:00:00 EST 2010 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3309486· OSTI ID:21347110

Nielson, Kevin D; Howes, Gregory G ^[1]; Tatsuno, Tomoya; Numata, Ryusuke; Dorland, William ^[2]

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1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 (United States)
2. Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States)

Collisions between counterpropagating Alfven waves represent the fundamental building block of plasma turbulence, a phenomenon of great importance to a wide variety of fields, from space physics and astrophysics to controlled magnetic fusion. Proposed experiments to study Alfven wave collisions on the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) [W. Gekelman, H. Pfister, Z. Lucky, J. Bamber, D. Leneman, and J. Maggs, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 62, 2875 (1991)] at the University of California, Los Angeles, will benefit significantly from numerical modeling capable of reproducing not only the linear dispersive effects of kinetic and inertial Alfven waves, but also the nonlinear evolution of the Alfvenic turbulence. This paper presents a comparison of linear simulation results using the astrophysical gyrokinetics code, AstroGK, to the measured linear properties of kinetic and inertial Alfven waves in the LAPD plasma. Results demonstrate that: (1) finite frequency effects due to the ion cyclotron resonance do not prevent satisfactory modeling of the LAPD plasma using gyrokinetic theory; and (2) an advanced collision operator, recently implemented in AstroGK, enables the code to successfully reproduce the collisionally enhanced damping rates of linear waves measured in recent LAPD experiments. These tests justify the use of AstroGK in the modeling of LAPD Alfven wave experiments and suggest that AstroGK will be a valuable tool in modeling the nonlinear evolution of proposed Alfven wave collision experiments.

• OSTI ID: 21347110
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 17; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ALFVEN WAVES
COLLISIONS
CYCLOTRON RESONANCE
HYDROMAGNETIC WAVES
ION CYCLOTRON-RESONANCE
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
PLASMA
PLASMA SIMULATION
RESONANCE
SIMULATION
TURBULENCE