AWECS: A Linear Gyrokinetic Delta-f Particle-in-Cell Simulation Code for the Study of Alfvenic Instabilities in High-Beta Tokamak Plasmas

TL;DR

AWECS is a new 1-D linear gyrokinetic particle-in-cell code designed to simulate a wide range of Alfvenic instabilities in high-beta tokamak plasmas, aiding in understanding plasma behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a versatile simulation tool capable of modeling various Alfvenic instabilities across different plasma regimes, with benchmarking and convergence validation.

Findings

Successfully benchmarks against other codes.

Demonstrates capability to simulate multiple Alfvenic modes.

Provides a foundation for future kinetic instability studies.

Abstract

A 1-D linear gyrokinetic code called AWECS is developed to study the kinetic excitation of Alfvenic instabilities in a high-beta tokamak plasma, with beta being the ratio of thermal to magnetic pressure. It is designed to describe physics associated with a broad range of frequencies and wavelengths. For example, AWECS is capable of simulating kinetic ballooning modes, Alfvenic ion-temperature-gradient-driven modes, as well as Alfven instabilities due to energetic particles. In addition, AWECS may be used to study drift-Alfven instabilities in the low-beta regime. Here, the layout of the code and the numerical methods used are described. AWECS is benchmarked against other codes and a convergence study is carried out.