Hamiltonian guiding center equations in toroidal magnetic configurations

Roscoe White and Leonid E. Zakharov

Citation: Physics of Plasmas (1994-present) 10, 573 (2003); doi: 10.1063/1.1544500

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 PHYSICS OF PLASMAS VOLUME 10, NUMBER 3 MARCH 2003

Hamiltonian guiding center equations in toroidal magnetic configurations

Roscoe Whitea) and Leonid E. Zakharov
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, P.O. Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543-0451
共Received 25 October 2002; accepted 13 December 2002兲
Guiding center equations for particle motion in a toroidal magnetic configuration are derived using
general magnetic coordinates. For the case of axisymmetry, the explicit transformation to exact
Hamiltonian canonical variables is presented for the first time. Approximate canonical coordinates
are introduced also for three-dimensional configurations with strong toroidal magnetic field.
Previous derivations made use of so-called Boozer equilibrium coordinates, which are highly
nonuniform and are canonical only in the exceptional case of low beta, up–down symmetric
configurations. The present formalism is valid for arbitrary, spatially well distributed magnetic
coordinates, greatly increasing the accuracy of calculations. Magnetostatic equilibrium is not
assumed in the present formalism, the analysis holds for any configuration with nested flux
surfaces. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. 关DOI: 10.1063/1.1544500兴

High energy particles in toroidal thermonuclear fusion unspecified here 共determined, e.g., by an equilibrium code in
devices, such as fusion product alpha particles, or those due practice兲, the vector potential of the magnetic field has the
to neutral beam injection or ion cyclotron heating, are well representation
known to behave as independent test particles, and their con-
finement can be analyzed to a high degree of accuracy using A⫽⫺ ␩ 共 a, ␪ , ␸ 兲 “a⫹⌽̄ 共 a 兲 “ ␪ ⫹⌿̄ 共 a 兲 “ ␸ . 共3兲
the background magnetic field and the guiding center ap- It is easy to check that the magnetic field B⫽(“ÃA) has no
proximation. Guiding center equations are important for component perpendicular to the coordinate surface a
simulations requiring the calculation of particle motion for ⫽const, (B"“a)⫽0. The particle velocity ṙ has the follow-
long periods of time, such as the study of alpha particle ing contravariant components:
confinement during the time it takes for the particles to slow
to the energy of the background plasma. 共 ṙ"“a 兲 ⫽ȧ, 共 ṙ"“ ␪ 兲 ⫽ ␪˙ , 共 ṙ"“ ␸ 兲 ⫽ ␸˙ . 共4兲
The guiding center Lagrangian obtained by Littlejohn1,2 With the following general covariant representation of the
has the following normalized form: magnetic field:

dr eB 0 B⫽B a “a⫹B ␪ “ ␪ ⫹B ␸ “ ␸ , 共5兲

L⫽ 共 A⫹ ␳ 储 B兲 "ṙ⫺H, ṙ⬅ , ␶ ⬅⍀ c t, ⍀ c⬅ ,
d␶ mc the Lagrangian acquires the form
共1兲
L⫽ 共 ⫺ ␩ ⫹ ␳ 储 B a 兲 ȧ⫹ P ␪ ␪˙ ⫹ P ␸ ␸˙ ⫺H, 共6兲
2
␳⬜2 mc ⌽ E
2

冏 冏冏 冏
B P ␪ ⬅⌽⫹ ␳ 储 B ␪ , P ␸ ⬅⌿⫹ ␳ 储 B ␸ , 共7兲
H⬅ ␳ 2储 ⫹ ␮ B⫹ ␾ E , ␮⬅ , ␾ E⬅ . 共2兲
2 2B e
thus leading to equations for the guiding center motion
Here, ṙ is the normalized time derivative of the particle po- f a 22 a 12 ⳵H
sition, ⍀ c is the ion cyclotron frequency in the reference
0 ⫺ ⫺
⳵␳ 储

冏冏
A A A
magnetic field B 0 , whatever is used for normalization 共e.g.,
␳˙ 储 f a 21 a 11 ⳵H
for SI units, B 0 ⫽1 T and ⍀ c ⫽95.79⫻10⫹6 1/s for protons兲, 0 ⫺
␳ 储 , ␳⬜ are the ion Larmor radii parallel and perpendicular to ȧ A A A ⳵a
⫽ • .
the field particle velocities. In the Hamiltonian H the last ␪˙ a 22 a 21 Ba ⳵H
term ␾ E is associated with the electric field potential ⌽ E . ␸˙ ⫺ 0 ⫺ ⫺
A A A ⳵␪
It is advantageous to use magnetic coordinates for par-
ticle motion, which is to lowest order along the magnetic a 12 a 11 Ba ⳵H
⫺ 0 ⫺
field and only to higher order 共the drift motion兲 across the A A A ⳵␸
field. There is no particular reason to use so-called straight 共8兲
field line coordinates, important for linear stability analysis, Here,
but not important for the description of particle motion. Ac-
cordingly, in general magnetic coordinates a, ␪ , ␸ , where a a 11⬅B ␪ , a 12⬅⌽ ⬘ ⫹ ␩ ␪⬘ ⫹ ␳ 储 关共 B ␪ 兲 a⬘ ⫺ 共 B a 兲 ⬘␪ 兴 , 共9兲
⫽const coincides with magnetic surfaces and ␪, ␸ remain a 21⬅B ␸ , a 22⬅⫺⌿ ⬘ ⫺ ␩ ␸⬘ ⫺ ␳ 储 关共 B ␸ 兲 a⬘ ⫺ 共 B a 兲 ␸⬘ 兴 , 共10兲
a兲
Electronic mail: rwhite@pppl.gov f ⬅ ␳ 储 关共 B ␸ 兲 ⬘␪ ⫺ 共 B ␪ 兲 ␸⬘ 兴 , A⬅a 11a 22⫺a 12a 21 . 共11兲

1070-664X/2003/10(3)/573/4/$20.00 573 © 2003 American Institute of Physics

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 574 Phys. Plasmas, Vol. 10, No. 3, March 2003 R. White and L. E. Zakharov

Here, primes denote the derivative either with respect to the
radial coordinate, if applied to a flux surface function, or the
derivative with respect to the coordinate in the subscript, if
applied to a general function. The term f ⬀“a"(“ÃB) is
nonzero only in the absence of magnetohydrostatic equilib-
specifying the origin of ␨ with respect to ␸ ⫽0. This specific
determination of the origin is, at present, missing in the defi-
nition of Boozer coordinates.
In the new coordinates a, ␪ , ␨ the Lagrangian acquires
the form

冕 冉␩ 冊
rium 共e.g., due to plasma rotation or pressure anisotropy兲.
It is the general property of these equations that for time d a Ba
L⫽⫺ ⫹⌿ da⫹ P̄ ␪ ␪˙ ⫹ P̄ ␨ ␨˙ ⫺H, 共14兲
independent configurations they preserve the energy of the dt 0 B␸
particle H⫽const. Also, in the case when the angle ␸ is
ignorable, ⳵ / ⳵␸ ⫽0, the equations of motion preserve the
angular momentum P ␸ ⫽const. Still, because of the presence
P̄ ␪ ⬅⌽⫹ 冕 ␩⬘
0
a
共 ␪ ⫺⌿ ⬘ ␨ ␪⬘ 兲 da⫹ ␳ 储 共 B ␪ ⫺B ␸ ␨ ␪⬘ 兲 ,
¯ ¯

of the term containing B a ȧ in L, a choice of canonical vari-

ables, for which the Liouville theorem for an ensemble of P̄ ␨ ⫽ P ␸ . 共15兲
charged particles is valid, is unclear.
Several attempts have been made to answer this ques- Now, by considering ␪ , ␨ , P̄ ␪ , P̄ ␨ as independent variables
tion. A rather rigorous discussion was presented in Ref. 3. It with a, ␳ 储 expressed implicitly in terms of them, the equa-
was shown that by massaging the angle variables it is pos- tions of motion have the Hamiltonian form
sible to eliminate the ȧ term in the Lagrangian. Nevertheless,
⳵H ⳵H ⳵H ⳵H
the specific recipe of modifying the poloidal angle used in ␨˙ ⫽ , Pថ ␨ ⫽⫺ , ␪˙ ⫽ , Pថ ␪ ⫽⫺ . 共16兲
this paper appears to be impractical for numerical simula- ⳵ P̄ ␨ ⳵␨ ⳵ P̄ ␪ ⳵␪
tions since it requires solving multiple nonlinear differential
equations for this angle variable change. If applied to axi- Thus, the angle coordinates ␪, ␨ are indeed canonical and
symmetric configurations, this method would lead to or- together with their conjugate momenta P̄ ␪ , P̄ ␨ specify the
thogonal coordinates, which are highly nonuniform in equi- appropriate phase space where the Liouville theorem is valid,
librium configurations of interest. In elliptically shaped i.e.,

冕冕
equilibria these equations in fact possess no solution in the
vicinity of the origin. d P̄ ␪ d ␪ ⫽const,
Another, widespread approach is based on the belief that

so-called Boozer coordinates,4 which eliminate the angular
dependence of B ␪ ,B ␸ and in the case of low plasma pressure
also of B a are close to canonical coordinates. In fact, even at
zero beta, B a is not zero and dissappears only in special
cases, such as up–down symmetry. These coordinates were
used5,6 and the B a ȧ term was dropped in the Lagrangian, by
arguing that this approximation only slightly perturbs the
particle motion along the field lines. This approach, although
giving a plausible Hamiltonian model for particle motion,
does not assure correct treatment of all particle orbits in high
beta or non up–down symmetric equilibria.
Here we propose instead the construction of canonical
Hamiltonian variables by the modification of the toroidal
angle only. For the case of an ignorable variable in L,
⳵ / ⳵␸ ⫽0, it is possible to give an explicit transformation of
the toroidal angle ␸,
␸ ⫽ ␨ ⫺¯␨ 共 a, ␪ 兲 , ␸˙ ⫽ ␨˙ ⫺¯␨ ⬘a ȧ⫺¯␨ ⬘␪ ␪˙ ,
where
冕冕
d P̄ ␨ d ␨ ⫽const, 共17兲
冕冕冕 d P̄ ␪ d ␪ d P̄ ␨ d ␨ ⫽const
in the phase spaces.
For three-dimensional 共3-D兲 magnetic configurations
there is no explicit transformation to canonical variables. The
so-called quasisymmetric configurations may have only one,
at best, magnetic surface with an ignorable toroidal angle7
where the previous transformation is valid. Nevertheless, for
the most important 3-D case of stellarators, which have a
large toroidal magnetic field, an approximate substitution,
similar to the two-dimensional case, leads to a Hamiltonian
form of the Lagrangian.
Indeed, by making a transformation to a new set of co-
共12兲 ordinates ā⫽a, ¯␪ ⫽ ␪ , and ␸ ⫽ ␨ ⫺¯␨ with the same definition
as in Eqs. 共12兲–共13兲, we have

¯␨ ⬅ 冕
0
a Ba
B␸
da. 共13兲
␸ ⫽ ␨ ⫺¯␨ 共 a, ␪ , ␸ 兲 , ␸˙ ⫽ ␨˙ ⫺¯␨ a⬘ ȧ⫺¯␨ ⬘␪ ␪˙ ⫺¯␨ ␸⬘ ␸˙ .
In a stellarator configuration even with a high three-
共18兲

dimensional shaping the last term can be assessed as

Compared with Ref. 3, instead of a nonlinear differential
equation, this transformation involves explicit integration.
Thus, it is consistent with the angle variables in the equilib-
rium codes, and the transformation from ␾ to ␨ can also be
¯␨ ␸⬘ ␸˙ ⯝O 冉 a 20 a 0 B pol
,
R 2 RB tor
冊
Ⰶ ␸˙ , 共19兲

directly supplied by the equilibrium code. where R,a 0 are the characteristic major and minor radii of
Note that in the case of Boozer coordinates at zero beta, the configuration and B pol ,B tor are the characteristic poloidal
B a /B ␸ depends only on a. Thus, Eq. 共13兲 determines the and toroidal magnetic fields. In this regard, this term can be
transformation of Boozer coordinates into canonical ones by either neglected 共as we do in this paper兲 or replaced by
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 Phys. Plasmas, Vol. 10, No. 3, March 2003 Hamiltonian guiding center equations . . . 575

FIG. 2. Variation of B in 共a兲 Boozer, and 共b兲 ESC coordinates shown for five
magnetic surfaces between a⫽0.75 and a⫽1, and the canonical correction
¯␨ (a, ␪ ESC)/2␲ for 共c兲 low ␤ ⫽8%, and 共d兲 high ␤ ⫽48% equilibria, shown
for ten magnetic surfaces throughout the entire plasma cross section.

The equations of motion in canonical coordinates have

the same form as the original equation 共8兲 with no coupling
term ⬀B a and a i j coefficients given by Eq. 共11兲, where ␩ and
the field components are substituted by their barred counter-
parts

¯␩ ⬅ ␩ ⫺⌿ ⬘¯␨ , B̄ a ⫽0, B̄ ␪ ⬅B ␪ ⫺B ␸¯␨ ␪⬘ ,

共23兲
B̄ ␨ ⬅B ␸ 共 1⫺¯␨ ␸⬘ 兲 .
Note, that while the canonical 3-D Lagrangian is ex-
pressed in terms of original variables a, ␪ , ␸ , its variation
FIG. 1. 共a兲 NSTX equilibrium with ␤ ⫽8% using Boozer coordinates; 共b兲
same equilibrium, using ESC coordinates.
should be performed using derivatives with respect to quasi-
canonical coordinates ā,¯␪ , ␨ , i.e.,

⳵ ⳵ ¯␨ a⬘ ⳵ ⳵ ⳵ ¯␨ ⬘␪ ⳵
¯␨ ␸⬘ ␸˙ ⯝¯␨ ␸⬘ ␨˙ . Otherwise, the inverse aspect ratio can be used as ⫽ ⫺ , ⫽ ⫺ ,
⳵ ā ⳵a 1⫺¯␨ ␸⬘ ⳵␸ ⳵¯␪ ⳵␪ 1⫺¯␨ ␸⬘ ⳵␸
a small parameter in a transformation of coordinates to any
desired accuracy. 共24兲
⳵ 1 ⳵
As a result the Lagrangian attains the same Hamiltonian ⫽ .
form as in Eq. 共15兲 共neglecting a full time derivative兲 ¯ 1⫺¯␨ ␸⬘ ⳵␸
⳵␨

L⫽ P̄ ¯␪ ␪ថ ⫹ P̄ ␨ ␨˙ ⫺H, 共20兲 In conclusion, the Lagrangian formalism developed,

supplemented by the explicit transformation to the general-
P̄ ¯␪ ⬅⌽⫹ 冕 0
a
共 ␩ ⬘␪ ⫺⌿ ⬘¯␨ ⬘␪ 兲 da⫹ ␳ 储 共 B ␪ ⫺B ␸¯␨ ␪⬘ 兲 , 共21兲
ized Hamiltonian canonical coordinates for axisymmetric
magnetic configurations and by an approximate 共but having a
rigorous ordering兲 transformation to quasicanonical vari-
P̄ ␨ ⫽⌿⫹ 冕 0
a
共 ␩ ␪⬘ ⫺⌿ ⬘¯␨ ␸⬘ 兲 da⫹ ␳ 储 B ␸ 共 1⫺¯␨ ␸⬘ 兲 . 共22兲 ables, resolves the long-standing issue on constuction of the
canonical coordinates for the guiding center motion. This
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 576 Phys. Plasmas, Vol. 10, No. 3, March 2003
formalism also demonstrates the advantage of the coordi-
nates used in equilibrium codes rather than straight field line
coordinates.
In Figs. 1共a兲 and 1共b兲 are shown the coordinate systems
for an axisymmetric National Spherical Torus Experiment
共NSTX兲 equilibrium8 of 8% beta 共the ratio of plasma pres-
sure to magnetic pressure兲 using Boozer coordinates and us-
ing the regular coordinates r(a, ␪ )⫽ 兺 r m (a)e im ␪ ,z(a, ␪ )
⫽z 0 (a)⫹z 1 (a)sin ␪ used by the Equilibrium and Stability
Code 共ESC兲.9 Clearly in using Boozer coordinates it is diffi-
cult to obtain a good representation of the field quantities
near the outboard midplane.
In Figs. 2共a兲 and 2共b兲 is shown the dependence of the
magnetic field on ␪ for these two choices of coordinates for
five surfaces ranging from a⫽0.75 to the outside bounding
surface a⫽1. The difficulty encountered numerically in us-
ing the Boozer representation is due to the sharp behavior of
B due to the depletion of ␪ in these coordinates at the outer
midplane.
In the most important cases, with a strong toroidal mag-
netic field 共such as tokamaks and stellarators兲 the canonical
correction to the toroidal angle is very small. For example,
Figs. 2共c兲 and 2共d兲 show ¯␨ (a, ␪ ) for NSTX for both low and
high beta cases.
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R. White and L. E. Zakharov
Note also that the presented formalism does not use the
properties of equilibrium configurations. In fact, it is appli-
cable for any configurations having nested magnetic sur-
faces, including anisotropic plasma pressure or plasmas with
a differential rotation. This formalism provides a means of
constructing adiabatic invariants for 3-D stellarator configu-
rations where exact symmetries cannot exist.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was supported by U.S. Department of Energy
Grant No. DE-FG03-94ER54271.
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