Open AccessMechanisms of Stochastic Diffusion of Energetic Ions in Spherical Tori
Author(s) -
Ya. I. Kolesnichenko,
R.B. White,
Yu. V. Yakovenko
Publication year - 2001
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/793022
Subject(s) - torus , diffusion , physics , ion , ripple , moment (physics) , magnetic field , field (mathematics) , particle (ecology) , atomic physics , tokamak , classical mechanics , computational physics , plasma , mathematics , quantum mechanics , geometry , oceanography , voltage , pure mathematics , geology
Stochastic diffusion of the energetic ions in spherical tori is considered. The following issues are addressed: (I) Goldston-White-Boozer diffusion in a rippled field; (ii) cyclotron-resonance-induced diffusion caused by the ripple; (iii) effects of non-conservation of the magnetic moment in an axisymmetric field. It is found that the stochastic diffusion in spherical tori with a weak magnetic field has a number of peculiarities in comparison with conventional tokamaks; in particular, it is characterized by an increased role of mechanisms associated with non-conservation of the particle magnetic moment. It is concluded that in current experiments on National Spherical Torus eXperiment (NSTX) the stochastic diffusion does not have a considerable influence on the confinement of energetic ions