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Title: Effects of electron cyclotron current drive on magnetic islands in tokamak plasmas

Journal Article · · Physics of Plasmas
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4996021· OSTI ID:1497876
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [1]
  1. Peking Univ., Beijing (People's Republic of China)
  2. Peking Univ., Beijing (People's Republic of China); Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)

The effects of the electron cyclotron current drive on magnetic islands in tokamak plasmas are studied using gyrokinetic simulations. By investigating the effects of different characteristics of the driven current, such as current density distribution and deposition location, the factors which can determine the suppression effect on the resistive tearing modes have been explored. It is found that an electron cyclotron wave (ECW) driven current with a larger peak value and more focused deposition region has a better stabilization effect. When the ECW-driven current is closer to the rational surface, it has a better stabilizing effect. These gyrokinetic toroidal code (GTC) linear simulations in the electron fluid limit of the tearing modes in the cylindrical geometry agree well with the magnetohydrodynamic codes. In conclusion, the optimal timing control of the current deposition on resistive tearing modes is demonstrated.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
1497876
Journal Information:
Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 24, Issue 8; ISSN 1070-664X
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 15 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (2)

Induction and stabilization of neoclassical tearing modes on HL-2A tokamak journal March 2019
RF current condensation in magnetic islands and associated hysteresis phenomena journal September 2019

Figures / Tables (8)


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