AEGIS-K code for linear kinetic analysis of toroidally axisymmetric plasma stability

A linear kinetic stability code for tokamak plasmas: AEGIS-K (Adaptive EiGenfunction Independent Solutions-Kinetic), is described. The AEGIS-K code is based on the newly developed gyrokinetic theory L.J. Zheng, M.T. Kotschenreuther, J.W. Van Dam, Phys. Plasmas 14 (2007) 072505]. The success in recovering the ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) from this newly developed gyrokinetic theory in the proper limit leads the AEGIS-K code to be featured by being fully kinetic in essence but hybrid in appearance. The radial adaptive shooting scheme based on the method of the independent solution decomposition in the MHD AEGIS code L.J. Zheng, M.T. Kotschenreuther, J. Comp. Phys. 211 (2006) 748] is extended to the kinetic calculation. A numerical method is developed to solve the gyrokinetic equation of lowest order for the response to the independent solutions of the electromagnetic perturbations, with the quasineutrality condition taken into account. A transform method is implemented to allow the pre-computed Z-function (i.e., the plasma dispersion function) to be used to reduce the integration dimension in the moment calculation and to assure the numerical accuracy in determining the wave–particle resonance effects. Periodic boundary condition along the whole banana orbit is introduced to treat the trapped particles, in contrast to the usual reflection symmetry conditions at the banana tips. Due to the adaptive feature, the AEGIS-K code is able to resolve the coupling between the kinetic resonances and the shear Alfvén continuum damping. Application of the AEGIS-K code to compute the resistive wall modes in ITER is discussed.