Magnetohydrodynamics for collisionless plasmas from the gyrokinetic perspective

Journal Article · Fri Jul 15 04:00:00 EDT 2016 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4960029· OSTI ID:22599992

Lee, W. W. ^[1]

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1. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States)

The effort to obtain a set of MagnetoHydroDynamic (MHD) equations for a magnetized collisionless plasma was started nearly 60 years ago by Chew et al. [Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 236(1204), 112–118 (1956)]. Many attempts have been made ever since. Here, we will show the derivation of a set of these equations from the gyrokinetic perspective, which we call it gyrokinetic MHD, and it is different from the conventional ideal MHD. However, this new set of equations still has conservation properties and, in the absence of fluctuations, recovers the usual MHD equilibrium. Furthermore, the resulting equations allow for the plasma pressure balance to be further modified by finite-Larmor-radius effects in regions with steep pressure gradients. The present work is an outgrowth of the paper on “Alfven Waves in Gyrokinetic Plasmas” by Lee and Qin [Phys. Plasmas 10, 3196 (2003)].

• OSTI ID: 22599992
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 23; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ALFVEN WAVES
BALANCES
COLLISIONLESS PLASMA
EQUATIONS
FLUCTUATIONS
LARMOR RADIUS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
MHD EQUILIBRIUM
PLASMA PRESSURE
PRESSURE GRADIENTS