Ideal MHD

Jeffrey P. Freidberg

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781107006256
• eBook ISBN: 9781139989480
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Physics
• Index: Physics

Comprehensive, self-contained, and clearly written, this successor to Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics (1987) describes the macroscopic equilibrium and stability of high temperature plasmas - the basic fuel for the development of fusion power. Now fully updated, this book discusses the underlying physical assumptions for three basic MHD models: ideal, kinetic, and double-adiabatic MHD. Included are detailed analyses of MHD equilibrium and stability, with a particular focus on three key configurations at the cutting-edge of fusion research: the tokamak, stellarator, and reversed field pinch. Other new topics include continuum damping, MHD stability comparison theorems, neoclassical transport in stellarators, and how quasi-omnigeneity, quasi-symmetry, and quasi-isodynamic constraints impact the design of optimized stellarators. Including full derivations of almost every important result, in-depth physical explanations throughout, and a large number of problem sets to help master the material, this is an exceptional resource for graduate students and researchers in plasma and fusion physics.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title
• Title page
• Copyright information
• Dedication
• Table of contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction
• 2 The ideal MHD model
• 3 General properties of ideal MHD
• 4 MHD equilibrium: general considerations
• 5 Equilibrium: one-dimensional configurations
• 6 Equilibrium: two-dimensional configurations
• 7 Equilibrium: three-dimensional configurations
• 8 MHD stability - general considerations
• 9 Alternate MHD models
• 10 MHD stability comparison theorems
• 11 Stability: one-dimensional configurations
• 12 Stability: multi-dimensional configurations
• Appendix A Heuristic derivation of the kinetic equation
• Appendix B The Braginskii transport coefficients
• Appendix C Time derivatives in moving plasmas
• Appendix D The curvature vector
• Appendix E Overlap limit of the high β and Greene-Johnson stellarator models
• Appendix F General form for q(ψ)
• Appendix G Natural boundary conditions
• Appendix H Upper and lower bounds on δQKIN
• Index