Gyrokinetic Vlasov Code Including Full Three-dimensional Geometry of Experiments

Abstract

A new gyrokinetic Vlasov simulation code, GKV-X, is developed for investigating the turbulent transport in magnetic confinement devices with non-axisymmetric configurations. Effects of the magnetic surface shapes in three-dimensional equilibrium obtained from the VMEC code are accurately incorporated. Linear simulations of ion temperature gradient (ITG) instabilities and zonal flows in the Large Helical Device (LHD) [O. Motojima, N. Oyabu, A. Komori et al., Nucl. Fusion 43, 1674 (2003)] configuration are carried out by the GKV-X code as benchmark tests against the GKV code [T.-H. Watanabe and H. Sugama, Nucl. Fusion 46, 24 (2006)]. For high poloidal wavenumbers, the frequency, growth rate, and mode structure of the ITG instability are influenced by the VMEC geometrical data such as the metric tensor components of the Boozer coordinates, while the difference between the zonal flow responses obtained by the GKV and GKV-X codes is found to be small in the core LHD region.