Vorticity generation by finite Larmor radius effects from heat source and sink

Abstract

We investigate the finite Larmor radius (FLR) effects that are associated with an external heat source or a sink in the full-f formulation of plasma dynamics. Specifically, we show that a gyrocenter or an additional vorticity source due to the FLR effect should be replenished in full-f turbulence simulations. A quantitative energetics analysis in particle phase space demonstrates that an additional vorticity source is required to satisfy the total energy conservation. A physics picture is presented to elucidate the mechanism of the vorticity source generation from the FLR effects of a heat source or a sink, which reproduces the main result obtained from the quantitative analysis. The additional vorticity source is expected to considerably enhance the generation of the radial electric field and subsequent E×B flow shear in the off-axis heating case.