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General formulas for adiabatic invariants in nearly periodic Hamiltonian systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2020

J. W. Burby*
Affiliation:
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
J. Squire
Affiliation:
Physics Department, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
*
Email address for correspondence: maruchanil1@gmail.com
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Abstract

While it is well known that every nearly periodic Hamiltonian system possesses an adiabatic invariant, extant methods for computing terms in the adiabatic invariant series are inefficient. The most popular method involves the heavy intermediate calculation of a non-unique near-identity coordinate transformation, even though the adiabatic invariant itself is a uniquely defined scalar. A less well-known method, developed by S. Omohundro, avoids calculating intermediate sequences of coordinate transformations but is also inefficient as it involves its own sequence of complex intermediate calculations. In order to improve the efficiency of future calculations of adiabatic invariants, we derive generally applicable, readily computable formulas for the first several terms in the adiabatic invariant series. To demonstrate the utility of these formulas, we apply them to charged-particle dynamics in a strong magnetic field and magnetic field-line dynamics when the field lines are nearly closed.

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Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press