Ballooning stability of anisotropic, rotating plasmas

The linearized equation of motion is given in a Lagrangian representation for a rotating plasma with anisotropic pressure. A WKB theory is developed for large-n ballooning modes in an axisymmetric configuration with field-aligned and rigid toroidal flows. In the presence of field-aligned flows, it is shown that a resonance occurs which is strongly suggestive of a generalized mirror instability. In the presence of toroidal rotation, a possible stabilizing effect is identified for P(normal) greater than P(parallel). Finally, as a special case of the theory, the necessary and sufficient conditions for stability in a static, anisotropic plasma are obtained.