General properties of anisotropic plasma equilibrium in tokamaks and stellarators are considered within the approach allowing explicit analytical evaluation of the equilibrium plasma currents and the related integral quantities. This is done to provide a link to the conventional equilibrium theory for isotropic plasma, to find the rules for possible extensions of its results to configurations with anisotropic pressure and to unify the knowledge obtained in separate numerical studies. Expressions for the diamagnetic signal and, mainly, the Pfirsch–Schlüter current in stellarators are considered. Ultimately this leads to a theoretical justification of the method of experimental evaluation of the pressure anisotropy in the Large Helical Device proposed by Yamaguchi et al (2005 Nucl. Fusion45 L33). The conditions of its applicability are clarified and possible limitations are elucidated. Combined effects of the pressure anisotropy and inward–outward shift of the plasma on the Pfirsch–Schlüter current in stellarators are discussed.
Analysing the impact of anisotropy pressure on tokamak equilibria