Isaac Newton Institute Programme on Gyrokinetics in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas (Urgency Scheme)

也许等离子体科学最大的挑战是理解小尺度波动和大尺度等离子体动力学之间的多尺度相互作用。这在基础天体物理和空间物理研究（例如，太阳风的湍流、黑洞的吸积、星系团的全球温度分布和局部结构）和更实际的地面环境（例如，国际聚变反应堆ITER的性能）中都是至关重要的。在过去的25年里，一种新的数学方法，陀螺动力学，已经发展出来处理等离子体中的低频波动。在这种方法中，快速轨道“回旋运动”被平均以产生电荷环的动力学方程。这是一个5D数学上严格的描述，比完整的动力学理论要容易处理得多。尽管在代码构建和模拟方面取得了一些实际的成功，但人们对陀螺动力学的数学性质和物理含义还不够了解。在空间和天体物理学中，回旋动力学理论的广泛适用性和力量尚未得到充分认识和利用。该计划的目标是超越传统的关注聚变等离子体的回旋动力学：面对更广泛的应用数学家和数字学者，面对回旋动力学带来的实际挑战；探索空间和天体物理等离子体的应用；从而帮助建立一个由物理学家，天体物理学家和数学家组成的跨学科和多才多艺的社区。艾萨克·牛顿研究所实验室和天体物理等离子体陀螺动力学项目由W·Dorland教授（马里兰州）、S·Nazarenko教授（华威大学）和A·Schekochihin博士（牛津大学，STFC高级研究员）组织，S·考利教授（Culham聚变能中心主任）担任顾问。大约50位顶尖的研究人员将参加为期四周的项目，其中包括为期一周的研讨会“实验室和空间等离子体的动力学尺度湍流：经验约束、基本概念和未解决的问题”。

Perhaps the greatest challenge in plasma science is to understand the multiscale interaction between small-scale fluctuations and large-scale plasma dynamics. This is crucial both in fundamental astrophysical and space physics research (e.g., turbulence in the solar wind, accretion onto black holes, and global temperature profiles and local structures in galaxy clusters) and in more practical terrestrial contexts (e.g., the performance of the international fusion reactor, ITER). In the last 25 years, a new mathematical approach, gyrokinetics, has been developed to treat low-frequency fluctuations in plasmas. In this approach, the fast orbital 'gyromotion' is averaged to produce kinetic equations for rings of charge. This is a 5D mathematically rigorous description that is far more tractable than the full kinetic theory. Despite some practical successes in code-building and simulations, the mathematical properties and physical implications of gyrokinetics are insufficiently well understood. In space and astrophysics, the wide applicability and power of the gyrokinetic theory has yet to be fully recognised and exploited. The programme will aim to step beyond the traditional focus on gyrokinetics for fusion plasmas: to confront a broader group of applied mathematicians and numericists with the practical challenges posed by gyrokinetics; to explore applications to space and astrophysical plasmas; and thus to help forge a cross-disciplinary and versatile community of physicists, astrophysicists and mathematicians. The Isaac Newton Institute Programme on Gyrokinetics in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas is organized by Professor W Dorland (Maryland), Professor S Nazarenko (Warwick) and Dr A Schekochihin (Oxford, STFC Advanced Fellow), with Professor S Cowley (Director, Culham Centre for Fusion Energy) as advisor. Approximately 50 leading researchers will attend during the four-week programme, which includes the week-long workshop 'Kinetic-scale turbulence in laboratory and space plasmas: empirical constraints, fundamental concepts and unsolved problems'.