BOOTSTRAP-CURRENT COMPUTATIONS FOR A STELLARATOR-REACTOR PLASMA

Numerical results for the bootstrap current in a stellarator-reactor plasma are presented. The distribution function f is computed numerically from a kinetic equation that is averaged over the helical ripple. The parallel flows and the current are obtained as upsilon-parallel-to moments of f. The physics issues embedded in the code are discussed concisely, concentrating on the justification as to why the bootstrap current can be estimated from an averaged scheme. Results are presented for typical stellarator-reactor parameters. The numerical code FLOCS predicts that the momentum-restoring terms in the collision operator have no significant impact on the value of the bootstrap current (the difference being about 10%). The results obtained are related to the equilibrium flows, and a physical interpretation based on the kinetic picture is presented. Finally, an estimate for the impact of J-parallel-to on the rotational transform is given.