2012/10/22 by J. A. Baumgaertel, G. W. Hammett, D. R. Mikkelsen +2
Physics and Astronomy · #Electron temperature #Gyrokinetics #Instability #Ion #Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics #Magnetic confinement fusion research #Mode (computer interface) #Plasma #Plasma stability #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Stability (learning theory) #Stellarator #Turbulence #physics.plasm-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1063/1.4771587
published as Phys. Plasmas 19, 122306 (2012) · Submitted to Physics of Plasmas. 9 pages, 27 figures
arxiv created 2012/10/22 · openalex publication_date 2012/12/01 · arxiv updated 2013/03/05 · openalex created_date 2017/10/20 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The gyrokinetic turbulence code GS2 was used to investigate the effects of plasma β on linear, collisionless ion temperature gradient (ITG) modes and trapped electron modes (TEM) in National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) geometry. Plasma β affects stability in two ways: through the equilibrium and through magnetic fluctuations. The first was studied here by comparing ITG and TEM stability in two NCSX equilibria of differing β values, revealing that the high β equilibrium was marginally more stable than the low β equilibrium in the adiabatic-electron ITG mode case. However, the high β case had a lower kinetic-electron ITG mode critical gradient. Electrostatic and electromagnetic ITG and TEM mode growth rate dependencies on temperature gradient and density gradient were qualitatively similar. The second β effect is demonstrated via electromagnetic ITG growth rates' dependency on GS2's β input parameter. A linear benchmark with gyrokinetic codes GENE and GKV-X is also presented.