Effect of an Electric Field on Transfer Processes in Axially Symmetric Magnetic Traps

By solving the kinetic equation in the drift approximation, expressions are derived for the particle flux and energy density across a strong magnetic field in axially symmetric systems of the Levitron or Tokamak type. In addition to the longitudinal accelerating electric field, which is responsible for creating the longitudinal current, account is taken of the presence of a quasistatic electric field directed along the minor radius and resulting from ambipolarity of dispersion. Both the case of very low collision frequencies (lower than the characteristic frequency of the azimuthal motion of the ''blocked'' particles) and that of intermediate and high collision frequencies are considered. It is shown that, if either the thermal velocity of the particles or the ratio of the poloidal magnetic field to the longitudinal magnetic field is fairly large (so that the mean longitudinal velocity of the toroidally ''blocked'' particles is much less than the azimuthal variations of their longitudinal velocity), then allowance for the radial electric field corresponds to allowance in the flux expressions for corrections of the next higher (i.e. fourth) order with respect to the smallness parameter used. In the opposite limiting case, allowance for the radial electric field becomes very important: in the region of very low and very high collision frequencies it leads to a substantial change in the functional dependence of the dispersion and heat conduction coefficients on the plasma and magnetic field parameters, while in the region of intermediate collision frequencies it leads to corrections proportional to the square of the ratio of the Larmor radius in the poloidal magnetic field to the characteristic dimension of the plasma inhomogeneity. In conclusion, the author discusses the question of determining a self-consistent radial electric field within the framework of a theory which takes into account only the lowest order with respect to the Larmor radius. (author)