Global waves in cold plasmas

Abstract

This paper presents numerical methods developed for the calculation of global wave solutions in cold plasmas, in connection with rf heating in the Alfvén and ion Cyclotron Range Frequency. Both one-dimensional and two-dimensional geometries are treated, with special emphasis on the toroidal geometry. A scheme based on a variational formulation and the use of finite hybrid elements is presented in detail. The numerical properties of the computational model are carefully examined. It is shown that an approximate solution with good convergence properties in an exact geometry can be obtained.