Dynamic stability of closed plasma configurations

Abstract

The global stability of closed plasma configurations is related to the dynamical principle of least constraint and the spacetime and gauge symmetries of the flow fields. This leads to an entirely new concept of MHD stability which is more basic than stability predictions which rely on a linearized perturbation analysis. The predictions of the theory are compared to recent experimental results obtained in studies of the stability of plasma confinement geometries. The theory predicts the violent ‘instabilities’ of these systems which are currently attributed to other mechanisms. Several pertinent details of the theory which are widely misinterpreted are discussed and clarified.