skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: The Hamiltonian structure and Euler-Poincare formulation of the Vlasov-Maxwell and gyrokinetic systems

Journal Article · · Physics of Plasmas
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4791664· OSTI ID:22113444
;  [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States)
  2. Centre de Physique Theorique, CNRS - Aix-Marseille Universite, Campus de Luminy, Marseille 13009 (France)

We present a new variational principle for the gyrokinetic system, similar to the Maxwell-Vlasov action presented in H. Cendra et al., [J. Math. Phys. 39, 3138 (1998)]. The variational principle is in the Eulerian frame and based on constrained variations of the phase space fluid velocity and particle distribution function. Using a Legendre transform, we explicitly derive the field theoretic Hamiltonian structure of the system. This is carried out with a modified Dirac theory of constraints, which is used to construct meaningful brackets from those obtained directly from Euler-Poincare theory. Possible applications of these formulations include continuum geometric integration techniques, large-eddy simulation models, and Casimir type stability methods.

OSTI ID:
22113444
Journal Information:
Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 20, Issue 2; Other Information: (c) 2013 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English