PPPL-5254

Equilibrium Potential Well due to Finite  Larmor Radius Effects at the Tokamak Edge

Authors:  W.W. Lee, R.B. White

Abstract:  We present a novel mechanism for producing the equilibrium potential well near the edge of a tokamak. Briefly, because of the difference in gyroradii between electrons and ions, an equilibrium electrostatic potential is generated in the presence of spatial inhomogeneity of the background plasma, which, in turn, produces a well associated with the radial electric field, Er, as observed at the edge of many tokamak experiments. We will show that this theoretically predicted Er field, which can be regarded as producing a long radial wave length zonal flow, agrees well with recent experimental measurements. The relationship between the equilibrium configuration used in the present study and that of the Woltjer-Taylor state will be discussed.
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Submitted to: Physical Review Letters
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Download PPPL-5254 (pdf 1.4 MB 14 pp)
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