Microscopic origins and macroscopic uses of plasma rotation

We consider the microscopic sources of toroidal and poloidal flow in confined magnetoplasmas and the effects of such flows on macroscopic stability. The central difficulty is satisfactory modelling of kinetic theory effects so as to permit their robust introduction into magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) codes. It is tentatively concluded that poloidal rotation, but not toroidal, is responsible for the computed stabilization and return to axisymmetry.