AWECS: A Linear Gyrokinetic Delta-f Particle-in-Cell Simulation Code for the Study of Alfvenic Instabilities in High-Beta Tokamak Plasmas

Abstract

A 1-D linear gyrokinetic code called AWECS is developed to study the kinetic excitation of Alfvenic instabilities in a high-beta tokamak plasma, with beta being the ratio of thermal to magnetic pressure. It is designed to describe physics associated with a broad range of frequencies and wavelengths. For example, AWECS is capable of simulating kinetic ballooning modes, Alfvenic ion-temperature-gradient-driven modes, as well as Alfven instabilities due to energetic particles. In addition, AWECS may be used to study drift-Alfven instabilities in the low-beta regime. Here, the layout of the code and the numerical methods used are described. AWECS is benchmarked against other codes and a convergence study is carried out.