Institute
for Fusion Theory and Simulation, Zhejiang University
Kinetic
theory and global dispersion relation
of Alfvén
waves in tokamaks - Spring 2026
Lecture Plan
and Teaching Material
Abstract: These
Lectures on the Kinetic theory and global dispersion relation of Alfvén
waves in tokamaks are the continuation of the Spring
2024 Course on Physics of Alfvén waves and energetic particles in fusion
plasmas: Mode structures and global dispersion of Alfvén waves in tokamaks.
These Lectures will cover with pedagogical style the first part of Reviews
of Modern Physics 88, 015008 (2016). General theoretical aspects are
treated in Lectures (1 ÷ 6), which are complemented by corresponding Q&A
Sessions.
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Main areas that will be explored are: |
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(I) Shear Alfvén waves in tokamaks. Mode
structure decomposition
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i) Shear Alfvén continuous
spectrum and frequency gaps. (Lecture 1) |
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(II) Variational methods for Alfvén waves
in tokamaks
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ii) Variational formulation and
variational principle |
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iii) Variational formulation and
variational principle |
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(III) Kinetic description of Alfvén waves
in tokamaks
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iv) The linear gyrokinetic equation and
the global dispersion |
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v) Kinetic Alfvén waves and
low-frequency |
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vi) Toroidal Alfvén Eigenmodes and |
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Lecture
Notes: Available in
electronic form. At the end of each lecture and during the Q&A time, a list
of specific reading material is given explicitly. Should you have difficulty in
finding literatures and papers, please contact me at fulvio.zonca@enea.it.
Exercises
and Research Projects:
In
the lecture notes, Exercises (E) of various difficulty levels are suggested.
These are meant to be important part of the lectures themselves. Possible
topics for Research Projects (RP) are also indicated, which require significant
more in depth analysis and work.
Q&A
Sessions: Devoted to
detailed discussions and analysis of technical aspects. They are meant to be
complementary to general lectures and are a necessary addendum for full
appreciation of the material presented in the course.
Time
and Location:
Lectures
will be held at IFTS on April 20-23-27 (9am-11am), April 28 (2pm-4pm) and May
6-11 (9am-11am), with corresponding Q&A Sessions (5pm-6pm).
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