A global method for burning plasma stability

A code developed for studying a field reversed configuration that can be used to study burning plasmas is discussed. The code uses the formalism of Lewis et al. (1988) to solve the linearized Vlasov-Poisson system globally. Some preliminary results justifying the model are examined. The code has been applied to some model problems and has given fair agreement with known solutions. This code can be very useful in studying the physics of plasmas with an energetic alpha component. It is necessary to use a global model in studying these plasmas because the alpha particles and gradients cause the local approximation to break down