Modification of Lie's transform perturbation theory for charged particle motion in a magnetic field

Abstract: It is pointed out that the conventional Lie transform perturbation theory for the guiding center motion of charged particles in a magnetic field needs to be modified for ordering inconsistency. There are two reasons. First, the ordering difference between the temporal variation of gyrophase and that of the other phase space coordinates needs to be taken into account. Second, it is also important to note that the parametric limit of the derivative of a function is not equivalent to the derivative of the limit function. When these facts are taken into account, the near identity transformation rule for one form related to the Lagrangian is modified. With the modified near identity transformation rule, the drift motion of charged particles can be described in the first order, instead of in the second order and beyond through a tedious expansion process as in the conventional formulation. This resolves the discrepancy between the direct and Lie transform treatments in the Lagrangian perturbation theory for charged particle motion in a magnetic field.