Self-Consistent Simulation of the Excitation of Compressional Alfvén Eigenmodes and Runaway Electron Diffusion in Tokamak Disruptions

Liu, Chang; Lvovskiy, Andrey; Paz-Soldan, Carlos; Jardin, Stephen C.; Bhattacharjee, Amitava

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.131.085102

Self-Consistent Simulation of the Excitation of Compressional Alfvén Eigenmodes and Runaway Electron Diffusion in Tokamak Disruptions

Journal Article · Thu Aug 24 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.131.085102· OSTI ID:1999801

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Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)
Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)

Alfvénic modes in the current quench (CQ) stage of the tokamak disruption have been observed in experiments. In DIII-D the excitation of these modes is associated with the presence of high-energy runaway electrons (REs), and a strong mode excitation is often associated with the failure of RE plateau formation. In this work we present results of self-consistent kinetic-MHD simulations of RE-driven compressional Alfvén eigenmodes (CAEs) in DIII-D disruption scenarios, providing an explanation of the CQ modes. Simulation results reveal that high energy trapped REs can have resonance with the Alfvén mode through their toroidal precession motion, and the resonance frequency is proportional to the energy of REs. The mode frequencies and their relationship with the RE energy are consistent with experimental observations. Further, the perturbed magnetic fields from the modes can lead to spatial diffusion of REs including the nonresonant passing ones, thus providing the theoretical basis for a potential approach for RE mitigation.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; AC02-09CH11466; AC05-00OR22725; SC0016268

OSTI ID:: 1999801

Journal Information:: Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 131; ISSN 0031-9007

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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