Related papers: New linear stability parameter to describe low-$\b…
Small-scale turbulence originating from microinstabilities limits the energy confinement time in magnetic confinement fusion. Here we develop a semi-analytical dispersion relation based on lowest-order solutions to the gyrokinetic equations…
The electromagnetic theory of the strongly driven ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) instability in magnetically confined toroidal plasmas is developed. Stabilizing and destabilizing effects are identified, and a critical $\beta_{e}$ (the ratio…
We present herein the results of a linear gyrokinetic analysis of electromagnetic microinstabilites in the conceptual high-$\beta$, reactor-scale, tight-aspect-ratio tokamak STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production,…
The linear gyrokinetic stability properties of magnetically confined electron-positron plasmas are investigated in the parameter regime most likely to be relevant for the first laboratory experiments involving such plasmas, where the…
Ion-gyroradius-scale microinstabilities typically have a frequency comparable to the ion transit frequency. Due to the small electron-to-ion mass ratio and the large electron transit frequency, it is conventionally assumed that passing…
Microtearing modes have been widely reported as a tearing parity electron temperature gradient driven plasma instability, which leads to fine scale tearing of the magnetic flux surfaces thereby resulting in reconnection of magnetic field…
Recent gyrokinetic stability calculations have revealed that the spherical tokamak is susceptible to tearing parity instabilities with length scales of a few ion Larmor radii perpendicular to the magnetic field lines. Here we investigate…
We investigate the linear tearing instability in weakly collisional plasmas using a non-ideal gyrotropic-MHD framework, uncovering a previously unknown scaling relation for the instability growth rate in high-$\beta$ environments. Even…
We have extended our study of the competition between the drive and stabilization of plasma microinstabilities by sheared flow to include electromagnetic effects at low plasma $\beta$ (the ratio of plasma to magnetic pressure). The extended…
Magnetic field fluctuations in MHD turbulence can be viewed as current sheets that are progressively more anisotropic at smaller scales. As suggested by Loureiro & Boldyrev (2017) and Mallet et al (2017), below a certain critical thickness…
We present a gyrokinetic theory for the electromagnetic waves and instabilities with frequencies much lower than the ion cyclotron frequency in finite-$\beta$ anisotropic uniform plasmas. Here, $\beta$ is the ratio between plasma and…
Spherical tokamaks (STs) have been shown to possess properties desirable for a fusion power plant such as achieving high plasma ? and having increased vertical stability. To understand the confinement properties that might be expected in…
We solve the linearized gyrokinetic equation, quasineutrality condition, and Ampere's law to obtain the dispersion relation of microtearing modes (MTMs) in collisionless low-beta toroidal plasmas. Consistent with past studies, we find that…
Depending on the physical conditions involved the beam plasma systems may reveal new unstable regimes triggered by the wave instabilities of different nature. We show through linear theory and numerical simulations the existence of an…
Event horizon-scale observations of low-luminosity black hole accretion flows favor magnetically arrested disks, characterized by dynamically important magnetic fields ($\beta\lesssim1$, where $\beta$ is the ratio of plasma thermal pressure…
The problem of the linear microtearing mode in a slab magnetised plasma, and its connection to kinetic reconnecting modes, is addressed. Electrons are described using a novel hybrid fluid-kinetic model that captures electron heating, ions…
We show that in a neutral magnetized plasma there exist microscopic oscillatory modes, with wavelengths of the order of magnitude of the mean interparticle distance, which become unstable when the electron density exceeds a limit…
The linear theory of the kinetic-ballooning-mode (KBM) instability is extended to capture a weakly-driven regime in general toroidal geometry where the destabilization is caused by the magnetic-drift resonance of the ions. Such…
When restricted to magnetic flux tubes, the gyrokinetic theory of microturbulence gives the same radial transport for ions and electrons. But, exact magnetic surfaces do not exist in the presence of what is called electrostatic…
Magnetised plasma turbulence can have a multiscale character: instabilities driven by mean temperature gradients drive turbulence at the disparate scales of the ion and the electron gyroradii. Simulations of multiscale turbulence, using…