Title: Axisymmetric global gravitational equilibrium for magnetized, rotating hot plasma

Journal Article · · Journal of Plasma Physics
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); OSTI
  2. Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg (Sweden)
  3. Univ. of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States)
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In this work, we present analytic solutions for three-dimensional magnetized axisymmetric equilibria confining rotating hot plasma in a gravitational field. Our up–down symmetric solution to the full Grad–Shafranov equation can exhibit equatorial plane localization of the plasma density and current, resulting in disk equilibria for the plasma density. For very weak magnetic fields and high plasma pressure, we find strongly rotating thin plasma disk gravitational equilibria that satisfy strict Keplerian motion provided the gravitational energy is much larger than the plasma pressure, which must be large compared to the magnetic energy of the poloidal magnetic field. When the rotational energy exceeds the gravitational energy and it is larger than the plasma pressure, diffuse disk equilibrium solutions continue to exist provided the poloidal magnetic energy remains small. For stronger magnetic fields and lower plasma pressure and rotation, we can also find gravitational equilibria with strong localization to the equatorial plane. However, a toroidal magnetic field is almost always necessary to numerically verify these equilibria are valid solutions in the presence of gravity for the cases considered in Catto & Krasheninnikov (J. Plasma Phys., vol. 81, 2015, 105810301). In all cases both analytic and numerical results are presented.

Research Organization:
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Plasma Science and Fusion Center; Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)
Grant/Contract Number:
FG02-04ER54739; FG02-91ER54109
OSTI ID:
1897660
Journal Information:
Journal of Plasma Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Plasma Physics Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 81; ISSN 0022-3778
Publisher:
Cambridge University PressCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (1)

Magnetic shear due to localized toroidal flow shear in tokamaks journal September 2019

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