On Magnetic Compression in Gyrokinetic Field Theory

Abstract

The issue of finite magnetic compressibility in low-beta magnetised plasmas is considered within the gyrokinetic description. The gauge transformation method of Littlejohn is used to obtain a Lagrangian which contains this effect additionally. The field theory version obtains a system model which guarantees exact energetic consistency. Gyrocenter drifts under this model are considered within a Chew-Goldberger-Low MHD equilibrium allowing for pressure anisotropy. The contributions to the current divergence balance, hence the dynamics, due to the difference between the curvature and grad-B drifts and to the compressibility are shown to cancel up to corrections of order beta. This recovers an earlier result with the same conclusion within linear theory of kinetic ballooning modes.

32 pages, no figures. The compression cancellation result for micro-instabilities from Tang et al (1980), ref [1], is recovered more generally from within gyro-kinetic field theory