Guiding-center simulation of toroidal plasmas

A new computer simulation method for axisymmetric toroidal plasmas is developed. The method comprises two separate physical models representing different components of an experimental plasma. The first model is an MHD fluid equilibrium representation; the technique devised for the solution of this equilibrium is faster than any currently in common use. The second model is a macroparticle representation which uses guiding-center formalism for the particles' velocities and positions; consequently, the timestep used by this model may be many times longer than those possible for conventional macroparticle simulations. A new computer, code, GUIDON, which incorporates in these models a solution for self-consistent magnetic fields, is presented. Special features of the guiding-center model are discussed in detail. Results of simulations using GUIDON are also presented.