Exact conservation laws for gauge-free electromagnetic gyrokinetic equations

Abstract

The exact energy and angular momentum conservation laws are derived by the Noether method for the Hamiltonian and symplectic representations of the gauge-free electromagnetic gyrokinetic Vlasov–Maxwell equations. These gyrokinetic equations, which are solely expressed in terms of electromagnetic fields, describe the low-frequency turbulent fluctuations that perturb a time-independent toroidally-axisymmetric magnetized plasma. The explicit proofs presented here provide a complete picture of the transfer of energy and angular momentum between the gyrocentres and the perturbed electromagnetic fields, in which the crucial roles played by gyrocentre polarization and magnetization effects are highlighted. In addition to yielding an exact angular momentum conservation law, the gyrokinetic Noether equation yields an exact momentum transport equation, which might be useful in more general equilibrium magnetic geometries.