Computer model of a fast toroidal plasma compression, with application to the topolotron

The method is developed for a computer sequence which models a fast toroidal theta or screw pinch for a highly conducting axially symmetric plasma. The computer sequence takes into account the self-inductances of the plasma and the external conductors which drive the compression as well as the mutual inductance which electromagnetically couples the two. The computer sequence is divided into three phases: a snowplow compression phase, an adiabatic compression phase, and a crowbarred circuit phase. The computer sequence is applied to a topolotron and an example is given of a magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium geometry for which the plasma surface possesses an asymptotic magnetic field with limit cycles