Short-Wave Asymptotics for Gaussian Beams and Packets and Scalarization of Equations in Plasma Physics

Abstract

We study Gaussian wave beam and wave packet types of solutions to the linearized cold plasma system in a toroidal domain (tokamak). Such solutions are constructed with help of Maslov’s complex germ theory (short-wave or semi-classical asymptotics with complex phases). The term “semi-classical” asymptotics is understood in a broad sense: asymptotic solutions of evolutionary and stationary partial differential equations from wave or quantum mechanics are expressed through solutions of the corresponding equations of classical mechanics. This, in particular, allows one to use useful geometric considerations. The small parameter of the expansion is h = λ / 2 π L where λ is the wavelength and L the dimension of the system. In order to apply the asymptotic algorithm, we need this parameter to be small, so we deal only with high-frequency waves, which are in the range of lower hybrid waves used to heat the plasma. The asymptotic solution appears to be a Gaussian wave packet divided by the square root of the determinant of an appropriate Jacobi matrix (“complex divergence”). When this determinant is zero, focal points appear. Our approach allows one to write out asymptotics near focal points. We also claim that this approach is very practical and leads to formulas that can be used for numerical simulations in software like Wolfram Mathematica, Maple, etc. For the particular case of high-frequency beams, we present a recipe for constructing beams and packets and show the results of their numerical implementation. We also propose ideas to treat the more difficult general case of arbitrary frequency. We also explain the main ideas of asymptotic theory used to obtain such formulas.