Test particle simulations for transport in toroidal plasmas

Abstract

The authors derive the guiding center equations of motion from the phase space Euler–Lagrange formulation for the motion of a charged particle in toroidal magnetic confinement geometry. The guiding center equations are numerically solved together with the Monte Carlo Coulomb collisional pitch angle scattering. The numerically calculated microscopic diffusion coefficients for various values of collisionality ν* in the case of no electrostatic potential agree well with the results of neoclassical theory. The diffusion coefficient is then measured in the presence of a model electrostatic drift wave fluctuation and an equilibrium potential. The diffusion coefficient increases with increasing fluctuation amplitude while the equilibrium potential diminishes the diffusion processes through both the orbit squeezing and the Er×B shear flow of the poloidal velocity.