The four 2001-2002 JIFT workshops were on topics of timely interest and had stimulating participation by both theoretical and computational scientists, as well as some experimentalists.

• The workshop on Equilibrium, Stability, and Transport in Torus Plasmas was held jointly with the Sixth International Workshop on the Relationship between Plasma Experiments in the Laboratory and Space (IPELS) in order that the field of magnetic confinement theory could interact with related fields such space plasma physics, inertia fusion, plasma applications, etc. Interchange between theory and experiment was also accomplished. This joint workshop promoted enhanced understanding among the various fields. For example, quite a few presentations about theoretical and experimental research on magnetic reconnection were given, both in fusion plasmas and space plasmas. Another topic at the workshop overlapping many fields was that of Alfvén waves. It was reported that a large-amplitude Alfvén wave breaks adiabaticity and causes stochastic heating due to nonlinear resonance. Toroidal Alfvén Eigenmode (TAE) destabilization and the accompanying burst phenomena observed in the TFTR tokamak were reproduced in numerical simulations. Compressional Alfvén waves were discussed both in the context of the NSTX experiment and in space. A review of Alfvén waves and specifically TAE modes was given for both fusion and space. Nonlocal transport and plasma turbulence were timely topics, being related to recent magnetic confinement theories and experiments. Recent experimental results from the LHD and Heliotron-J helical experiments were presented. The importance of computational science was emphasized, and large-scale computational science projects were described (in particular, the new SciDAC initiative in the US). The workshop promoted mutual understanding among various fields, which was creative and fruitful for magnetic confinement theory.

• The workshop on High Field Science continued what has become an extremely fruitful line of research in the JIFT program over the last several years. Theoretical and simulation studies were presented on the generation of high-energy particles, relativistic and nonlinear wave phenomena, and relativistic electromagnetic phenomena related to interactions between plasmas and ultra-intense lasers for a fast-ignitor device. This workshop was to have been held in the fall of 2001, in conjunction with the biennial Conference on Inertial Fusion Science and Applications (Kyoto, Japan). However, it was postponed to March 2002, due to the September terrorist events in the US.

• The workshop on Scope of Complexity Science was quite stimulating. One of the purposes for this workshop was to generalize simulation techniques to other fields. Another purpose was to explore the universality underlying various fields through an examination of cross-cutting topics, such as self-organization and complexity in confined plasmas, space plasmas, and other fields such as biophysics. The topics covered complex systems with self-organization and structure formation in magnetically confined plasmas, inertia fusion plasmas, space plasmas, bifurcation to quasi-steady states, polymer dynamics and their coherent structure formation, complexity in DNA, and biophysics. The workshop emphasized the importance of the visualization of simulation results. Virtual reality devices were introduced from The University of Texas and NIFS. Three-dimensional, barrier-free virtual reality technique and a visualization method using pattern recognition technique were described.

• The workshop on Innovative Methods in Theoretical Analysis of Collective Phenomena in Plasmas discussed theoretical methodology for subjects such as chaos behavior, the three-dimensional structure of magnetic fields, and the effect of shear flow in toroidal plasmas. The topic of plasma flow took a leading role in the workshop. The sheared flow appearing in the enhanced confinement H-mode and in double Beltrami equilibrium, and a new type of confinement method utilizing fast rotating flow were discussed from the point of view of self-organization, with attention paid to plasma structure formation due to electron and/or ion flow. Non-Hermitian dynamics was discussed for fluctuations in plasma with flow. Other topics were applications of the methodology developed for fusion plasma physics to fields such space plasma physics.

The JIFT exchange visits during 2001-2002 have also been productive, in terms of collaborations established, research accomplished, and papers written.  Here we mention just a few highlights.

• Dr. M. Yagi (Kyushu U.) visited PPPL and UCSD and developed a kinetic-fluid model simulation code to study zonal flows. The numerical model includes a linear dispersion relation that is more accurate than the conventional gyro-fluid model. This model is being extended to treat instabilities in the short-wavelength region, which has not been previously considered.

• Dr. T. Tatsuno (U. Tokyo) conducted theoretical studies of the stability of a plasma with flow. This problem had not yet completely been understood due to its mathematical difficulty. In collaboration with Dr. S. Mahajan, he examined rigorously the effect of the flow on linear stability in the presence of interchange instabilities in an incompressible plasma. He also discussed the explosive instability in a discrete nonlinear dynamic system corresponding to non-Hermitian operators.

• Dr. N. Nakajima (NIFS) visited PPPL for three weeks. The purpose of his visit was to extend the HINST code, which calculates non-perturbatively the effect of energetic particles on MHD modes, to three-dimensional equilibria, for application to LHD and CHS experiments. Collaborating with Drs. C. Z. Cheng and N. Gorelenkov, he created an interface with the three-dimensional equilibrium code and the coordinate transformation to the Boozer coordinate system. As a result, he was able to complete a benchmark test for comparing the behavior of ideal ballooning modes in a tokamak and the LHD torsatron. The improvement of bounce averaging of trapped particles is now under way. He also discussed the delta-f method for neoclassical transport with Dr. W. Wang. This collaboration will continue at both NIFS and PPPL. Another collaboration, with Drs. Nazikian, Monticello, and Reiman, will run a benchmark test between the 3-D HINT code and the PIES code. It is hoped that the results could be presented at the JIFT workshop proposed to be held in November, 2002, at PPPL. This project is closely related to the development of a magnetic probe diagnostic at NIFS. The problem of the re-construction of equilibria in LHD and NCSX was also discussed.

• Dr. N. Mizuguchi (NIFS) worked with experimentalists who operate the NSTX experiment at PPPL and compared his simulation results for MHD nonlinear phenomena with the experimental observations.

• Dr. D. Mikkelsen (PPPL) considered transport in the LHD and CHS helical devices in order to make a comparison between theory and experiment. With Drs. S. Murakami, N. Nakajima, S. Okamura, S. Sudo, H. Yamada, and K. Yamazaki he explored possibilities for collaborative research on helical systems.

• Dr. D. Monticello (PPPL) interacted with Drs. S. Okamura, C. Suzuki, T. Hayashi, K. Itoh, K. Ichiguchi, R. Kanno, M. Okamoto, and T. Sato at NIFS. He ported the PIES code to the SX-5 computer at NIFS. A test case was set up to compare the PIES and HINT codes. Most of his work was on the topics of MHD equilibrium and stability for quasi-axisymmetric helical devices.

• Dr. H. Nakamura (NIFS) went to the University of Texas at the end of March, 2002, to collaborate with IFS scientists on the study on self-organization for non-equilibrium systems. He will work at IFS for three months as the JIFT Visiting Professor to the US.

• Dr. C. Birdsall (UC Berkley) arrived at NIFS in March and assumed his position of JIFT Visiting Professor and Guest Foreign Professor. He will stay at NIFS for three months. He will present a three-day introductory course (May 8-10) for beginners in numerical simulation. He will also present six 90-minute seminars, which will involve various demonstrations of numerical simulations. He is also working on a new edition of his book on plasma simulation.

Twelve JIFT joint computational projects on various topics were also active during the past year. Some of these projects involved limited travel.