An energy principle is used to obtain the solution of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equilibrium equation J Vector x B Vector - del p = 0 for nested magnetic flux surfaces that are expressed in the inverse coordinate representation x Vector = x Vector(rho, theta, zeta). Here, theta and zeta are poloidal and toroidal flux coordinate angles, respectively, and p = p(rho) labels a magnetic surface. Ordinary differential equations in rho are obtained for the Fourier amplitudes (moments) in the doubly periodic spectral decomposition of x Vector. A steepest descent iteration is developed for efficiently solving these nonlinear, coupled moment equations. The existence of a positive-definite energy functional guarantees the monotonic convergence of this iteration toward an equilibrium solution (in the absence of magnetic island formation). A renormalization parameter lambda is introduced to ensure the rapid convergence of the Fourier series for x Vector, while simultaneously satisfying the MHD requirement that magnetic field lines are straight in flux coordinates. A descent iteration is also developed for determining the self-consistent value for lambda.

Assuming no prior knowledge of plasma physics or numerical methods, Computational Methods in Plasma Physics covers the computational mathematics and techniques needed to simulate magnetically confined plasmas in modern magnetic fusion experiments and future magnetic fusion reactors. Largely self-contained, the text presents the basic concepts neces

A description is given of a new code, MOMCON (spectral moments with constraints), that obtains three-dimensional ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equilibria in a fixed toroidal domain using a Fourier expansion for the inverse coordinates (R, Z) representing nested magnetic surfaces. A set of nonlinear coupled ordinary differential equations for the spectral coefficients of (R, Z) is solved using an accelerated steepest descent method. A stream function lambda is introduced to improve the mode convergence properties of the Fourier series for R and Z. Constraint equations relating the m greater than or equal to 2 moments of R and Z are solved to define a unique poloidal angle.

A self-contained introduction to magnetohydrodynamics with emphasis on nonlinear processes.