Hamiltonian magnetohydrodynamics: Lagrangian, Eulerian, and dynamically accessible stability—Theory
- Alta S.p.A., Pisa 56121 (Italy)
- Institute for Fusion Studies and Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1060 (United States)
- Università di Pisa, Dipartimento di Fisica E. Fermi, Pisa 56127 (Italy)
Stability conditions of magnetized plasma flows are obtained by exploiting the Hamiltonian structure of the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equations and, in particular, by using three kinds of energy principles. First, the Lagrangian variable energy principle is described and sufficient stability conditions are presented. Next, plasma flows are described in terms of Eulerian variables and the noncanonical Hamiltonian formulation of MHD is exploited. For symmetric equilibria, the energy-Casimir principle is expanded to second order and sufficient conditions for stability to symmetric perturbation are obtained. Then, dynamically accessible variations, i.e., variations that explicitly preserve invariants of the system, are introduced and the respective energy principle is considered. General criteria for stability are obtained, along with comparisons between the three different approaches.
- OSTI ID:
- 22220571
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 20, Issue 9; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Hamiltonian magnetohydrodynamics: Lagrangian, Eulerian, and dynamically accessible stability—Examples with translation symmetry
Hamiltonian magnetohydrodynamics: Helically symmetric formulation, Casimir invariants, and equilibrium variational principles