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Topological analysis of a perturbed MHD equilibrium using magnetic field-line invariants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 1997

JASON W. BATES  and
H. RALPH LEWIS
JASON W. BATES
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA
H. RALPH LEWIS
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA
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Abstract

A procedure has previously been developed for the iterative construction of invariants associated with magnetic field-line Hamiltonians that consist of an axisymmetric zeroth-order term plus a non-axisymmetric perturbation. Approximate field-line invariants obtained with this procedure are used to examine the topological properties of magnetic field lines in a parabolic-current MHD equilibrium that was slightly perturbed from axisymmetry in the limit of a periodic cylindrical configuration. Excellent agreement between Poincaré maps and the level curves of the first-order invariant is found for small perturbations. A means of circumventing the ‘small-divisor problem’ in some cases is identified and implemented with outstanding results. These results indicate that this perturbation method can have valuable consequences for future investigations of magnetic field-line topology.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Plasma Physics , Volume 58 , Issue 3 , October 1997 , pp. 553 - 569
Copyright
1997 Cambridge University Press

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