A drift-kinetic analytical model for scrape-off layer plasma dynamics at arbitrary collisionality. (20th November 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jorge, R.; Ricci, P.; Loureiro, N. F.
• Is Part Of: Journal of plasma physics. Volume 83:Number 6(2017)
• Publication Date: 2017-11-20
• Subjects: fusion plasma, -- plasma confinement, -- plasma nonlinear phenomena; Plasma (Ionized gases) -- Periodicals; 530.4405
• DOI: 10.1017/S002237781700085X
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-3778

Abstract

Abstract : A drift-kinetic model to describe the plasma dynamics in the scrape-off layer region of tokamak devices at arbitrary collisionality is derived. Our formulation is based on a gyroaveraged Lagrangian description of the charged particle motion, and the corresponding drift-kinetic Boltzmann equation that includes a full Coulomb collision operator. Using a Hermite–Laguerre velocity space decomposition of the gyroaveraged distribution function, a set of equations to evolve the coefficients of the expansion is presented. By evaluating explicitly the moments of the Coulomb collision operator, distribution functions arbitrarily far from equilibrium can be studied at arbitrary collisionalities. A fluid closure in the high-collisionality limit is presented, and the corresponding fluid equations are compared with previously derived fluid models.