Collisionless transport parallel to the magnetic field in a toroidal plasma

Transport parallel to the magnetic field of a toroidal plasma confinement s ystem is investigated through kinetic theory, with emphasis on the long mea n-free path limit. The crucial differences between transport on rational an d irrational (ergodic) magnetic surfaces is discussed in detail. A collisio nless transport law, involving a nonlocal operator that accounts for toroid al topology, is derived for parallel hear conduction on irrational magnetic surfaces. In the rational surface case, perpendicular diffusion is include d in the kinetic equation to avoid singularity; this allows a calculation o f the width and amplitude of resonant temperature perturbations that will b e excited by heat sources with sufficiently broad Fourier spectra. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S1070-664X(99)01302-6].