Particle and parallel momentum balance equations with inclusion of drifts, for modelling strong- to weakly-collisional edge plasmas

A system of plasma particle and parallel momentum balance equations is derived appropriate for understanding the role of drifts in the edge and for edge modelling, particularly in the scrape-off layer (SOL) of tokamaks, stellarators and other magnetic confinement devices. The formulation allows for strong collisionality-but also covers the case of weak collisionality and strong drifts, a combination often encountered in the SOL. The most important terms are identified by assessing the magnitude of characteristic velocities and fluxes for the plasma edge region. Explanations of the physical nature of each term are provided. A number of terms that are sometimes not included in edge modelling has been included in the parallel momentum balance equation after detailed analysis of the parallel component of the gradient of the total pressure-stress tensor. This includes terms related to curvature and divergence of the field lines, as well as further contributions coming from viscous forces related mainly to the ion centrifugal drift. All these terms are shown to be roughly of the same order of magnitude as convective momentum fluxes related to drifts and therefore should be included in the momentum balance equation.