Equilibria and dynamics of a fusion reactor plasma

Model descriptions of the behaviour of a fusion reactor plasma are based on systems of partial differential equations, accounting for the processes occurring in the plasma as well as for the effects of boundaries. It is the purpose of the present contribution to introduce a new technique of analysis based on a central expansion in the spatial variable for a bounded state of a fusion plasma. The technique considerably simplifies the description of the dynamics as well as the determination of equilibria. For particular cases of practical interest, combining effects of alpha particle heating, external heating, ohmic heating and bremsstrahlung, explicit analytic results are obtained for equilibrium distributions. The analytic results are complementary to those of extensive direct computer calculations and useful as check-points or for interpretation. (author) 2 figs