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The characteristics of ion-scale turbulence in the presence of a magnetic island are numerically investigated using a gyrokinetic model in fusion plasma. We observe that in the absence of the usual ion temperature gradient (ITG) drive gradient, a magnetic island and its flatten effect could drive ITG instability. The magnetic island (MI) not only drives high-n modes of ITG instability but also induces low-n modes of vortex flow. Moreover, as the magnetic island width increases, the width of the vortex flow also increases. This implies that wider islands may more easily induce vortex flows. The study further indicates that the saturated amplitude and transport level of MI-induced ITG turbulence vary with different magnetic island widths. In general, larger magnetic islands enhance both particle and heat transport. When the magnetic island width reaches to 21ρi, the turbulence-driven transport becomes the same level with the cases that ITG is driven by pressure gradients. Our findings indicate the presence of intricate nonlinear effects in the modulation of plasma turbulence by MIs. These effects are of significant importance for comprehending the phenomenon of nonlinear coupling in forthcoming tokamaks such as ITER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolutions of MHD instability behaviors and enhancement of both electrostatic and electromagnetic turbulence towards the plasma disruption have been clearly observed in the HL-2A plasmas. Two types of plasma disruptive discharges have been investigated for similar equilibrium parameters: one with a distinct stage of a small central temperature collapse (∼ 5–10%) around 1 millisecond before the thermal quench (TQ), while the other without. For both types, the TQ phase is preceded by a rotating 2/1 tearing mode, and it is the development of the cold bubble from the inner region of the 2/1 island O-point along with its inward convection that causes the massive energy loss. In addition, the micro-scale turbulence, including magnetic fluctuations and density fluctuations, increases before the small collapse, and more significantly towards the TQ. Also, temperature fluctuations measured by electron cyclotron emission imaging enhances dramatically at the reconnection site and expand into the island when approaching the small collapse and TQ, and the expansion is more significant close to the TQ. The observed turbulence enhancement near the X-point cannot be fully interpreted by the linear stability analysis by GENE. Evidences suggest that nonlinear effects, such as the reduction of local E r × B shear and turbulence spreading, may play an important role in governing turbulence enhancement and expansion. These results imply that the turbulence and its interaction with the island facilitate the stochasticity of the magnetic flux and formation of the cold bubble, and hence, the plasma disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edge localized mode (ELM) mitigation with lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) has been observed in the HL-2A tokamak. This mitigation effect is very sensitive to the parameters as the plasma density and the LHCD absorbed power, i.e., more easily to be observed for high density and large LHCD absorbed power. The divertor peak heat load released by ELM has been significantly reduced during the mitigation phase. The pedestal density gradient is slightly reduced during ELM mitigation, and the plasma rotation velocity and ion temperature are significantly reduced by LHCD. It has been found that the ELM mitigation is not synchronized with the LHCD, while it is synchronized with the increase of the pedestal turbulence, showing that the enhancement of the transport due to the pedestal turbulence can be the direct cause of the ELM mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We perform a numerical study of linear stability of the ion temperature gradient (ITG) mode and the trapped electron mode (TEM) in tokamak plasmas with inverted density profiles. A local gyrokinetic integral equation is applied for this study. From comprehensive parametric scans, we obtain stability diagrams for ITG modes and TEMs in terms of density and temperature gradient scale lengths. The results show that, for the inverted density profile, there exists a normalized threshold temperature gradient above which the ITG mode and the TEM are either separately or simultaneously unstable. The instability threshold of the TEM for the inverted density profile is substantially different from that for normal and flat density profiles. In addition, deviations are found on the ITG threshold from an early analytic theory in sheared slab geometry with the adiabatic electron response [T. S. Hahm and W. M. Tang, Phys. Fluids B 1, 1185 (1989)]. A possible implication of this work on particle transport in pellet fueled tokamak plasmas is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coupling of the short wavelength ion temperature gradient mode (SWITG) and trapped electron mode (SWTEM) in the presence of impurity ions is numerically studied in tokamak plasmas. It is found that the coupling of SWITG and SWTEM modes is divided into hybrid and coexistent cases. The impurity ions always have stabilizing effects on the hybrid mode (namely, SWTE-ITG) with small ηi (ηi < 0.5), which is different from the conventional TE-ITG mode. In the lager ηi (ηi > 0.5) regime, the impurity ions with the density profiles peaked inwardly (outwardly) stabilize (destabilize) the SWTE-ITG mode. Another new finding in this paper is that the impurity ions stabilize the SWTEM mode independent of whether their density profile is peaked inwardly or outwardly. The result for the SWITG mode is similar to the SWTE-ITG mode in the lager ηi regime, except that the excitation of the SWTEM mode requires ηi higher than a certain threshold. In addition, the kθρs spectra, eigenmode structures, and the effects of different impurity ion species on the modes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current driven by combined electron cyclotron wave (ECW) and high harmonic fast wave is investigated using the GENRAY/CQL3D package. It is shown that no significant synergetic current is found in a range of cases with a combined ECW and fast wave (FW). This result is consistent with a previous study [Harvey et al., in Proceedings of IAEA TCM on Fast Wave Current Drive in Reactor Scale Tokamaks (Synergy and Complimentarily with LHCD and ECRH), Arles, France, IAEA, Vienna, 1991]. However, a positive synergy effect does appear with the FW in the lower hybrid range of frequencies. This positive synergy effect can be explained using a picture of the electron distribution function induced by the ECW and a very high harmonic fast wave (helicon). The dependence of the synergy effect on the radial position of the power deposition, the wave power, the wave frequency, and the parallel refractive index is also analyzed, both numerically and physically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of impurity ions on the trapped electron mode (TEM) in tokamak plasmas are numerically investigated with the gyrokinetic integral eigenmode equation. It is shown that in the case of large electron temperature gradient (ge), the impurity ions have stabilizing effects on the TEM, regardless of peaking directions of their density profiles for all normalized electron density gradient R=Lne. Here, R is the major radius and Lne is the electron density gradient scale length. In the case of intermediate and/or small ge, the light impurity ions with conventional inwardly (outwardly) peaked density profiles have stabilizing effects on the TEM for large (small) R=Lne, while the light impurity ions with steep inwardly (outwardly) peaked density profiles can destabilize the TEM for small (large) R=Lne. Besides, the TEM driven by density gradient is stabilized (destabilized) by the light carbon or oxygen ions with inwardly (outwardly) peaked density profiles. In particular, for flat and/or moderate R=Lne, two independent unstable modes, corresponding respectively to the TEM and impurity mode, are found to coexist in plasmas with impurity ions of outwardly peaked density profiles. The high Z tungsten impurity ions play a stronger stabilizing role in the TEM than the low Z impurity ions (such as carbon and oxygen) do. In addition, the effects of magnetic shear and collision on the TEM instability are analyzed. It is shown that the collisionality considered in this work weakens the trapped electron response, leading to a more stable TEM instability, and that the stabilizing effects of the negative magnetic shear on the TEM are more significant when the impurity ions with outwardly peaked density profile are taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High harmonic fast waves (HHFW) are among the candidates for non-inductive current drive (CD), which is essential for long-pulse or steady-state operation of tokamaks. Current driven with HHFW in EAST tokamak plasmas is numerically studied. The HHFW CD efficiency is found to increase non-monotonically with the wave frequency, and this phenomenon is attributed to the multi-pass absorption of HHFW. The sensitivity of CD efficiency to the value of the parallel refraction index of the launched wave is confirmed. The quasilinear effects, assessed as significant in HHFW current drive with the GENRAY/CQL3D package, cause a significant increase in CD efficiency as RF power is increased, which is very different from helicon current drive. Simulations for a range of toroidal dc electric fields, in combination with a range of fast wave powers, are also presented and indicate that the presence of the DC field can also enhance the CD efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electron cyclotron wave (ECW) current drive (CD) for the HL-2A tokamak is investigated numerically with a new ray-tracing and Fokker-Planck code. The code is benchmarked with other well-tested linear and quasilinear codes and is then used to study the electron cyclotron current drive on the HL-2A tokamak. The wave propagation, power deposition, and driven-current profiles are presented. The effect of electron trapping is also assessed. It is found that quasilinear effects are negligible at the present ECW power levels and that when both waves are injected at an angle of 20° on the plasma equatorial plane, the CD efficiency for the HL-2A saturates at ~0.029 × 1020 A/W/m² and ~0.020× 1020 A/W/m² for the 0.5 MW/68 GHz first harmonic ordinary (O1) and 1MW/140 GHz second harmonic extraordinary (X2) modes, respectively. The effects of the plasma density, temperature, and wave-launching position on the driven current are also investigated analytically and numerically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of impurity ions on the short wavelength ion temperature gradient (SWITG) driven instability in elongated tokamak plasmas are numerically investigated with the gyrokinetic integral eigenmode equation. It is found that for a moderate electron density gradient, the SWITG mode is first destabilized and then stabilized with increasing elongation κ, which is different from the conventional long wavelength ITG mode. For a large electron density gradient, the elongation can effectively stabilize the SWITG mode. Moreover, the low Z impurity ions with inwardly (outwardly) peaked density profiles have stabilizing (destabilizing) effects on the SWITG modes in elongated plasmas. Interestingly, the high Z tungsten impurity ions with inwardly peaked density profiles play a stronger stabilizing role in the SWITG modes than the low Z impurity ions (such as carbon and oxygen) do. In particular, the high Z tungsten impurity ions with a weakly outwardly peaked density profile still have a stabilizing effect. Finally, the critical threshold of impurity density gradient scale length for exciting impurity mode is also numerically obtained, indicating that the impurity mode is harder to be excited in elongated plasmas than in circular ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energetic-particle-induced kinetic electromagnetic geodesic acoustic modes (EKEGAMs) are numerically studied in low β (=plasma pressure/magnetic pressure) tokamak plasmas. The parallel component of the perturbed vector potential is considered along with the electrostatic potential perturbation. The effects of finite Larmor radius and finite orbit width of the bulk and energetic ions as well as electron parallel dynamics are all taken into account in the dispersion relation. Systematic harmonic and ordering analysis are performed for frequency and growth rate spectra of the EKEGAMs, assuming (kpi) ~ q-3 ~ β ≪ 1, where q, k, and qi are the safety factor, radial component of the EKEGAMs wave vector, and the Larmor radius of the ions, respectively. It is found that there exist critical βh/βi values, which depend, in particular, on pitch angle of energetic ions and safety factor, for the mode to be driven unstable. The EKEGAMs may also be unstable for pitch angle λ0B < 0.4 in certain parameter regions. Finite β effect of the bulk ions is shown to have damping effect on the EKEGAMs. Modes with higher radial wave vectors have higher growth rates. The damping from electron dynamics is found decreasing with decrease of the temperature ratio Te/Ti. The modes are easily to be driven unstable in low safety factor q region and high temperature ratio Th/Ti region. The harmonic features of the EKEGAMs are discussed as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Features of fishbone-like trapped energetic electrons driven modes (TEEMs), which are a particular manifestation of the fishbone gap modes, are investigated taking into account model radial profile and the pitch angle distribution of the energetic electrons (EEs). The TEEMs are found unstable only when the beta values of EEs βh (¼pressure of the energetic electrons/pressure of magnetic field) are higher than certain critical values which are proportional to perturbed energy δWc of background plasma and much lower than that for traditional fishbone modes. In addition, TEEMs become stable again and enter a second stable regime whenβh values are higher than second critical values. Furthermore, the modes can only be excited in plasmas which are stable for MHD instabilities. The real frequency and growth rate of the modes are approximately linear and parabolic functions of βh, respectively. The real frequency is very low but not zero in the vicinity of lower beta region, whereas it is comparable to the toroidal precession frequency of the EEs in higher critical beta region. The numerical results show that the second stable regime is easy to form when q=1 flux surface is close to the magnetic axis. Suitable density gradient of EEs and magnetic shear are other two necessary conditions for excitation of the TEEMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coupling of ion temperature gradient (ITG or ηi) mode and trapped electron mode (TEM) in the presence of impurity ions is numerically investigated in toroidal collisionless plasmas, using the gyrokinetic integral eigenmode equation. A framework for excitations of the ITG modes and TEMs with respect to their driving sources is formulated first, and then the roles of impurity ions played in are analyzed comprehensively. In particular, the characteristics of the ITG and TEM instabilities in the presence of impurity ions are emphasized for both strong and weak coupling (hybrid and coexistent) cases. It is found that the impurity ions with inwardly (outwardly) peaked density profiles have stabilizing (destabilizing) effects on the hybrid (namely the TE-ITG) modes in consistence with previous works. A new finding of this work is that the impurity ions have stabilizing effects on TEMs in small ηi (ηi ⩽ 1) regime regardless of peaking directions of their density profiles whereas the impurity ions with density gradient Lez = Lne/Lnz > 1 (Lez < 1) destabilize (stabilize) the TEMs in large ηi (ηi ⩾ 1) regime. In addition, the dependences of the growth rate, real frequency, eigenmode structure, and wave spectrum on charge concentration, charge number, and mass of impurity ions are analyzed in detail. The necessity for taking impurity ion effects on the features of turbulence into account in future transport experimental data analyses is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edge localized mode (ELM)-filament statistical characteristics and intermittent convective transport are studied during ELM mitigation (10–30�ms) induced by supersonic molecular beam injection (SMBI) on the HL-2A tokamak. Langmuir probe data show that the burst rate of large amplitude filaments (δne�>�4σ) decreases by 30–50% and their radial velocity decreases by 40–60%, which is an indication of an amplitude reduction. A decrease of long-range correlation along the magnetic flux surface is observed after SMBI, indicating a role of electron–ion collisionality on the filament parallel current in the ELM mitigation time. The transient particle and heat fluxes decrease about 40–50% and 50–60%, respectively. These observations indicate that SMBI might be an effective method to suppress the intermittent convective transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kink modes are investigated in pedestal for shaped tokamaks. An analytic combining criterion is presented. It lies on the middle of the sufficient criterion of Lortz and necessary criterion of Mercier giving a more restricted necessary criterion. Growth rates and mode structure are calculated. For large poloidal mode number, the modes are highly localized in both poloidal and radial directions. The modes increase rapidly when they approach to the resonant surface. They are typical of edge localized modes (ELMs). It is assumed that the modes vanish inside the next resonant surface, then, there seems to be a second stable region. Several mitigation methods for controlling ELMs are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excitation of the geodesic acoustic mode continuum by drift wave turbulence is studied using the wave kinetic approach. For a model profile of weak non-uniform ion temperature, the forms of growth rate and radial structure of geodesic acoustic modes are obtained analytically. The growth rate is analyzed for several conditions for present-day tokamaks and compared with that for uniform ion temperature, as well as that given by the coherent mode approach for non-uniform ion temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Density profiles in the pedestal region (H-mode) are measured in HL-2A and the characteristics of the density pedestal are described. Cold particle deposition by supersonic molecular beam injection (SMBI) within the pedestal is verified. Edge-localized mode (ELM) mitigation by SMBI into the H-mode pedestal is demonstrated and the relevant physics is elucidated. The sensitivity of the effect to SMBI pressure and duration is studied. Following SMBI, the ELM frequency increases and the ELM amplitude decreases for a finite duration. Increases in ELM frequency of fELMSMBI/fELM0 ~ 2-3.5 are achieved. This experiment argues that the ELM mitigation results from an increase in higher frequency fluctuations and transport events in the pedestal, which are caused by SMBI. These inhibit the occurrence of large transport events which span the entire pedestal width. The observed change in the density pedestal profiles and edge particle flux spectrum with and without SMBI supports this interpretation. An analysis of the experiment and a model shows that ELMs can be mitigated by SMBI with shallow particle penetration into the pedestal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pellet pacing ELM mitigation concept is being tested in some tokamaks such as ASDEX Upgrade, DIII-D and JET. By increasing the ELM frequency, the ELM size can be reduced and eventually suppressed to meet the lifetime requirements on ITER target plates. In the HL-2A tokamak, ELMy H-mode operation is routinely performed and small type-III ELMs with a high repetition rate and some type-I (or possibly large type-III) ELM events are observed. Large ELMs are often preceded by strong coherent magnetic oscillations, and produce obvious perturbations on plasma current Ip, electron density ñedge at the edge, stored energy WE, etc. The coherent magnetic oscillations before an ELM crash or during the ELM are measured by toroidal and poloidal Mirnov coils and analysed by the wavelet technique to study the spectral characteristics of the short time ELM events. Pellet injection experiments are performed in type-III ELMy H-mode plasmas and ELM-free H-mode plasmas to study the physics of pellet triggering ELM. The analyses of pellet-induced ELMs and spontaneous ELMs are presented. Because the pellet size is relatively large, it induces magnetic oscillations lasting longer than that of a natural ELM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operation conditions have been improved via developing new technologies and improving the hardware on HL-2A tokamak in recent years. The ECRH system has been upgraded to 3 MW/68 GHz, the supersonic molecular beam injection (SMBI) fuelling technique has been developed further, and clusters can be formed in the SMB by cooling the gas to around liquid nitrogen temperature, so that deeper penetration can be achieved. Moreover, there are about 30 kinds of diagnostics developed on HL-2A to measure the plasma parameters. These diagnostic systems include magnetics, microwave reflectometry, charge exchange recombination spectroscopy, Thomson scattering, FIR interferometer. Some of them were specially designed for the physics experiments. For example, a novel design of Langmuir probes was developed to study the 3-D structure of zonal flows. With these hardware development and improvement, new experimental results have been achieved in the fields of turbulence, transport, MHD instabilities, and energetic particle dynamics. In particular, the edge localized mode (ELM)y H-mode has been achieved by combining the auxiliary heating of NBI and ECRH, SMBI is beneficial for the L-H transition and the H-mode operation on HL-2A, and suitable for studying particle transport and controlling the ELMs during H-mode discharges due to its deep and local injection features and good controllability. In addition, the 3-D spectral structures of the low-frequency zonal flow and quasi-mode, which were predicted by theory and simulation, have been observed simultaneously. The beta-induced Alfvén eigenmodes (BAEs), excited by large magnetic islands (m-BAE) and by energetic electrons (e-BAE), are investigated, these phenomena are under further study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Electromagnetic effects of the kinetic geodesic acoustic modes (KGAMs) are numerically studied in low β(= plasma pressure/magnetic pressure) tokamak plasmas. The parallel component of the perturbed vector potential is considered along with the electrostatic potential perturbation. The finite Larmor radius and finite orbit width of the ions as well as electron parallel dynamics are all taken into account. Systematic harmonic and ordering analysis is performed for collisionless damping of the KGAMs, assuming β~(κρi)2, where κand ρiare the radial component of the KGAM wave vector and the Larmor radius of the ions, respectively. It is found that the electron parallel dynamics enhances the damping of the electrostatic KGAM modes when the safety factor q is high. In addition, the electromagnetic (finite β effect is revealed to enhance and weaken the damping of the modes in plasmas of low and high safety factor q~2.0 and 5.5, respectively. The harmonic features of the KGAMs are discussed as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The linear behaviors of the double tearing mode (DTM) mediated by parallel electron viscosity in cylindrical plasmas with reversed magnetic shear and thus two resonant rational flux surfaces is numerically investigated. The distance between the two surfaces is found to play an important role for modes with poloidal mode number m>1. Two modes, one of which is centered at the inner rational surface and the other is located between the two surfaces, are simultaneously unstable and the growth rates show the standard single tearing mode (STM) scaling as γ∝R-1/3 when the distance is large (here, the Reynolds number R≡τυ/τh, τυ, and τh are, respectively, the viscosity penetration time of the magnetic field and the Alfvén time for a plasma sheet of width a). The latter is unstable only and the growth rate transits to the standard DTM scaling as γ∝R-1/5 for low-m (e.g., m<4) modes and keeps the STM scaling γ∝R-1/3 for high-m (e.g., m∼10) modes, which are found dominant, when the distance is decreased. In contrast, two unstable modes extending from plasma center to the two rational surfaces, respectively, coexist and the growth rates always show the scaling of γ∝R-1/5, independent of the distance, when the poloidal mode number m=1. The DTMs mediated by electron viscosity are enhanced by plasma resistivity of the range where the growth rate of the mode induced by the latter alone is comparable with that mediated by the former alone and vice versa. Otherwise, the growth rate of the mode is equal to the higher of the modes mediated by resistivity or electron viscosity alone when both of them are taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strong correlation between high frequency microturbulence and low frequency geodesic acoustic mode (GAM) has been observed in the edge plasmas of the HL-2A tokamak, suggesting possible GAM generation via three wave coupling with turbulence, which is in turn modulated by the GAM. In this work, we use the gyrokinetic toroidal code to study the linear and nonlinear development of the drift instabilities, as well as the generation of the GAM (and low frequency zonal flows) and its interaction with the turbulence for realistic parameters in the edge plasmas of the HL-2A tokamak for the first time. The simulation results indicate that the unstable drift wave drives strong turbulence in the edge plasma of HL-2A. In addition, the generation of the GAM and its interaction with the turbulence are all observed in the nonlinear simulation. The simulation results are in reasonable agreement with the experimental observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internal kink (fishbone) modes, driven by barely passing energetic ions (EIs), are numerically studied with the spatial distribution of the EIs taking into account. It is found that the modes with frequencies comparable to the toroidal precession frequencies are excited by resonant interaction with the EIs. Positive and negative density gradient dominating cases, corresponding to off- and near-axis depositions of neutral beam injection (NBI), respectively, are analyzed in detail. The most interesting and important feature of the modes is that there exists a second stable regime in higher βh (=pressure of EIs/toroidal magnetic pressure) range, and the modes may only be excited by the barely passing EIs in a region of βth1<βh<βth2 (βth is threshold or critical beta of EIs). Besides, the unstable modes require minimum density gradients and minimum radial positions of NBI deposition. The physics mechanism for the existence of the second stable regime is discussed. The results may provide a means of reducing or even preventing the loss of NBI energetic ions and increasing the heating efficiency by adjusting the pitch angle and driving the system into the second stable regime fast enough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method of the particle transport study using supersonic molecular beam injection (SMBI) and microwave reflectometry is reported in this paper. Experimental results confirm that pulsed SMBI is a good perturbation source with deeper penetration and better localization than the standard gas puffing. The local density modulation is induced using the pulsed SMBI and the perturbation density is measured by the microwave reflectometry. Using Fourier transform analysis for the local density perturbation, radial profiles of the amplitude and phase of the density modulation can be obtained. The experimental results in HL-2A show that the particle injected by SMBI is located at about r/a=0.65–0.75. The position of the main particle source can be determined through three aspects: the minimum of the phase of the first harmonic of the Fourier transform of the modulated density measured by microwave reflectometry; the Ha intensity profile and the local density increase ratio. The maximum of the amplitude of the first harmonic shifts often inward relative to the particle source location, which indicates clearly there is an inward particle pinch in this area. Good agreement has been found between the experimental results and the simulation using analytical transport model. The particle diffusivity D and the particle convection velocity V have been obtained by doing this simulation. The sensitivity in the transport coefficients of the amplitude and the phase of the density modulation has been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three-dimensional wavenumber and frequency spectrum for the geodesic acoustic mode (GAM) has been measured in the HuanLiuqi-2A tokamak for the first time. The spectrum provides definite evidence for the GAM, which is characterized by kθ=k[lowercase_phi_synonym]=0 and krρi≈0.04-0.09 with the full width at half-maximum Δkrρi≈0.03-0.07. The localized GAM packet is observed to propagate outward in the radial direction with nearly the same phase and group velocity. The envelopes of the radial electric field and density fluctuations are observed to be modulated by the GAM. By comparing the experimental result with that of the envelope analysis using model signals, the mechanism of the envelope modulation has been identified. The results strongly suggest that the envelope modulation of the Er fluctuations is dominantly caused by the direct regulation of the GAM during the GAM generation in the energy-conserving triad interaction, and the envelope modulation of the density fluctuations is induced by the GAM shearing effect, which transfers the fluctuation energy from low to high frequencies. In addition, the cross- and auto-bicoherences for interactions between the GAM and turbulent fluctuations show a similar peaked feature that may reflect the resonant property in the nonlinear coupling between the GAM and turbulent fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three-dimensional characteristics of the geodesic acoustic mode zonal flows (GAMZFs) and the ambient turbulence (AT) at the edge of the HuanLiuqi-2A tokamak [Y. Liu et al., Nucl. Fusion 45, S203 (2005)] are investigated with Langmuir probe arrays and the results are presented in detail. The toroidal and poloidal symmetries, and the radial scale of the GAMZFs are simultaneously identified. The envelopes of the high frequency components of the AT in the presence of the GAMZFs are analyzed. The GAM frequency components (GAMFCs) of the coherent envelopes are also shown to have poloidal and toroidal symmetries, and similar radial scales as the GAMZF does. The correlation between the GAMFCs of the envelopes and the GAMs is high, with phase shifts between π/2 to π, indicating that the GAMZFs may regulate the AT and the regulation is embodied in the envelopes. Three-wave coupling between GAM and AT is found to be a plausible formation mechanism for the former, which acts on the whole spectra of the latter within its scale length. The temporal evolutions of the total fluctuation power, the GAM and the AT powers show that the AT power decreases when GAM power increases and vice versa, indicating possible regulating effects of the latter on the former. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quasilinear development of double tearing modes induced by plasma resistivity is numerically analyzed. The spatiotemporal characteristics of the modes are analyzed in detail. Magnetohydrodynamic flow layers are demonstrated to merge in the development of the modes. The sheared flows lie just at the boundaries of the magnetic islands in the quasilinear stage. The flows have sufficient levels of shear required for turbulence suppression. Possible correlation between the layer formation and triggering of experimentally observed internal transport barriers, preferentially formed in the proximity of rational flux surfaces of low safety factors, is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sheared flow layers driven by magnetic energy, released in tearing-reconnection processes inherent in dissipative magnetohydrodynamics, are proposed as a triggering mechanism for the creation of the internal transport barrier (ITB) in tokamak plasmas. The double tearing mode, mediated by anomalous electron viscosity in configurations with a nonmonotonic safety factor, is investigated as an example. Particular emphasis is placed on the formation of sheared poloidal flow layers in the vicinity of the magnetic islands. A quasilinear simulation demonstrates that the sheared flows induced by the mode have desirable characteristics (lying just outside the magnetic islands), and sufficient levels required for ITB formation. A possible explanation is also proffered for the experimental observation that the transport barriers are preferentially formed in the proximity of low-order rational surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of flow shear on the temperature gradient driven short wavelength ion (SWITG) modes and electron temperature gradient (ETG) modes are investigated in a sheared slab. The SWITG mode can be stabilized at arbitrary β when the E×B velocity shear, VE′, reaches above a critical value. Since the SWITG mode has a lower frequency, a lower VE′ is needed to stabilize the SWITG mode than to stabilize the conventional ITG mode. However, the critical values of VE′ for stabilization of both SWITG and conventional ITG modes are much less than vti/Ln, where vti and Ln are ion thermal speed and the scale length of density gradient. Contrastively, the ETG mode cannot be stabilized until the VE′ is larger than vti/Ln. Similarly, a parallel velocity shear with order vti/Ln has significant effects on the SWITG mode but is too small to influence the ETG mode. The different behaviors of flow shear effects on the SWITG and ETG modes may indicate that the ETG mode is more reasonable than the SWITG as the candidate responsible for anomalous electron thermal transport. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temperature gradient (η[SUBi] and η[SUBe]) driven instability in the short wavelength regime, &varbar;k[SUBy]ρ[SUBi]&varbar; >1, is studied in a sheared slab. An analytical analysis is performed first to clarify the physics mechanisms for the modes in a shearless slab. The correlation between the growth rate and the real frequency of the modes is discussed in detail. The electron temperature gradient is found to have strong influences on the modes in short wavelength regions. Several series of the short wavelength modes are then identified with a kinetic integral equation code in a sheared slab. The radial widths of the modes are found to be comparable with the conventional η[SUBi] (modes and not short, although the poloidal wavelengths are short. The lowest odd mode usually dominates in the weak magnetic shear and low β regime. However, the fundamental mode seems to be important in tokamak plasmas because the higher order modes are easily stabilized by finite β and/or by magnetic shear. The fundamental short wavelength mode cannot be stabilized by β when the magnetic gradient drift effect is taken into account. The modes are excited by both finite η[SUBi] and η[SUBe], and may be stabilized) by magnetic shear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four different thermal conduction models have been used to calculate the critical density limits in Ohmically heated tokamaks using the electron and ion energy balance equations. The results are compared to experimental density limits for a variety of Ohmically heated tokamaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the ion temperature gradient driven microionstabilities for tokamak plasmas with very weak magnetic shear (VWS) using kinetic theory. Physical model and eigenmode equation; Instability and transport; Parallel velocity shear effects; Perpendicular velocity shear effects.

Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) profiles from a supershot density-modification experiment [Zarnstorff et al., Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research, 1990, Proceedings of the 12th International Conference, Washington (IAEA, Vienna, 1991), Vol. I, p. 109] are analyzed for their local and ballooning stability to toroidal ηi modes in order to understand the initially puzzling results showing no increase in χi when a pellet is used to produce an abrupt and large increase in the ηi parameter. The local stability analysis assumes that k||=1/qR and ignores the effects of shear, but makes no assumption on the magnitude of k||vti/ω. The ballooning stability analysis determines a self-consistent linear spectrum of k||’s including the effect of shear and toroidicity, but it expands in k||vti/ω≤1, which is a marginal assumption for this experiment. Nevertheless, the two approaches agree well and show that the mixing length estimate of the transport rate does not change appreciably during the density modification and has a value close to or less than the observed χi, in contrast to most previous theories, which predicted χi’s that were over an order-of-magnitude too large. However, still to be explained is the observed increase of χi(r) with minor radius by adding the effects of (i) the finite-beta drift wave—magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) mode coupling, (ii) the slablike mode, or (iii) the trapped-electron response. The experimental tracking 0.2<χe/χi<0.7 suggests that both grad Ti and trapped-electron driving mechanisms are operating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of helical driven current on the m = 2/n = 1 tearing mode is studied numerically in a cylindrical geometry using the method of reduced magneto-hydro-dynamic simulation. The results show that the local persistent helical current drive from the beginning time can be applied to control the tearing modes, and will cause a rebound effect called flip instability when the driven current reaches a certain value. The current intensity threshold value for the occurrence of flip instability is about 0.00087I0. The method of controlling the development of tearing mode with comparative economy is given. If the local helical driven current is discontinuous, the magnetic island can be controlled within a certain range, and then, the tearing modes stop growing; thus, the flip instability can be avoided. We also find that the flip instability will become impatient with delay injection of the driven current because the high order harmonics have been developed in the original O-point. The tearing mode instability can be controlled by using the electron cyclotron current drive to reduce the gradient of the current intensity on the rational surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three sets of triple probe arrays (four-tip) are applied to study the transport properties at the edge of a HL-2A tokamak. The Geodesic Acoustic Mode (GAM) exhibits intermittent characteristics during the discharge. The radial particle flux has been studied in different phases corresponding to the variable GAM intensity. The experimental results reveal that the radial particle flux contributed by the ambient turbulence ( 20 kHz – 100 kHz ) has been suppressed by 13% during the GAM bursts, contrasting weak GAM cases. Power of density fluctuations and coherence between density and potential fluctuations contribute to most reduction of the particle flux, while changing the cross phase between the density and potential fluctuations and the suppression of power of potential fluctuations hardly contribute to it. These results suggest that the GAM can regulate the turbulent transport mainly by changing the amplitude of ambient turbulence, rather than the cross phase between density and potential fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kinetic beta-induced Alfvén eigenmodes (KBAEs) driven by energetic ions are numerically investigated using revised AWECS code. The thermal ion density and temperature gradients are taken into account. It is found that the growth rate of the KBAEs increases with the thermal ion pressure gradient, and the contributions from the density gradient and temperature gradient of the thermal ions to the enhancement of the instability are comparable. The damping effect of thermal ion dynamics on the modes is also observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is shown that trapped energetic electrons can resonate with the collisionless m = 1 nonideal kink mode, therefore exciting the nonideal e-fishbone, which would often lead to a drop in soft x-ray emissivity and frequency chirping. The theory predictions agree well with the experimental observations of e-fishbone on HL-2A. It is also found that the effects of MHD energy of background plasma might be the reason for the observed phenomena: frequency chirping up and down, and V-font-style sweeping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gyrokinetics for high-frequency modes in tokamaks is developed. It is found that the breakdown of the invariants by perturbed electromagnetic fields drives microinstability. The obtained diamagnetic frequency, ω*, is proportional to only the toroidal mode number rather than transverse mode numbers. Therefore, there is no nonadiabatic drive for axisymmetrical modes in gyrokinetics. Meanwhile, the conventional eikonal Ansatz breaks down for the axisymmetrical modes. The ion drift-cyclotron instability discovered in a mirror machine is found for the first time in the toroidal system. The growth rates are proportional to ρi/Ln, and the slope changes with magnetic curvature. In spherical torus, where magnetic curvature is greater than that of traditional tokamaks, instability poses a potential danger to such devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of impurity ions on a pedestal has been investigated in the HL-2A Tokamak, at the Southwestern Institute of Physics, Chengdu, China. Experimental results have clearly shown that during the H-mode phase, an electromagnetic turbulence was excited in the edge plasma region, where the impurity ions exhibited a peaked profile. It has been found that double impurity critical gradients are responsible for triggering the turbulence. Strong stiffness of the impurity profile has been observed during cyclic transitions between the I-phase and H-mode regime. The results suggest that the underlying physics of the self-regulated edge impurity profile offers the possibility for an active control of the pedestal dynamics via pedestal turbulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]