A method of computational magnetohydrodynamics defining stable Scyllac equilibria

A computer code has been developed for the numerical calculation of sharp boundary equilibria of a toroidal plasma with diffuse pressure profile. This generalizes earlier work that was done separately on the sharp boundary and diffuse models, and it allows for large amplitude distortions of the plasma in three-dimensional space. By running the code, equilibria that are stable to the so-called m = 1, k = 0 mode have been found for Scyllac, which is a high beta toroidal confinement device of very large aspect ratio.