Abstract. Substantial advances have been made in the global calculation of microinstabilities. First, we present results of the world's first global linear gyrokinetic code in fully 3D configurations. We show that the unstable Ion Temperature Gradient (ITG) modes in quasi-axisymmetric and quasi-helical configurations exhibit 3D features, while the global stability properties seem rather insensitive to the three-dimensionality of the configuration. Second, the inclusion of equilibrium radial electric fields in both finite element particle-in-cell (PIC) and spectral global codes yield the remarkable result that the value of the E×B flow can be as effective as its shear in stabilizing toroidal ITG modes. Third, electron dynamics and finite beta effects are addressed by including electromagnetic perturbations with a two-potential formulation.
IAEA 2001