Abstract
A study is made of a scale model in three dimensions of a guiding center plasma within the purview of gyroelastic (also known as finite gyroradius-near theta pinch) magnetohydrodynamics. The nonlinear system sustains a particular symmetry called isorrhopy which permits the decoupling of fluid modes from drift modes. Isorrhopic equilibria are analyzed within the framework of geometrical optics, resulting in local dispersion relations and ray constants. A general scheme is developed to evolve an arbitrary linear perturbation of a screw pinch equilibrium as an invertible integral transform over the complete set of generalized eigenfunctions defined naturally by the equilibrium. Details of the structure of the function space and the associated spectra are elucidated. Features of the global dispersion relation owing to the presence of gyroelastic stabilization are revealed. An energy principle is developed to study the stability of the tubular screw pinch.
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