Abstract
Neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs) often lead to the decrease of plasma performance and can lead to disruptions, which makes them a major impediment in the development of operating scenarios in present toroidal fusion devices. Recent gyrokinetic simulations predict a decrease of plasma turbulence and cross-field transport at the O-point of the islands, which in turn affects the NTM dynamics. In this paper, a heat transport model of magnetic islands employing spatially non-uniform cross-field thermal diffusivity (χ⊥) is presented. This model is used to derive χ⊥ at the O-point from electron temperature data measured across 2/1 NTM islands in DIII-D. It was found that χ⊥ at the O-point is 1 to 2 orders of magnitude smaller than the background plasma transport, in qualitative agreement with gyrokinetic predictions. As the anomalously large values of χ⊥ are often attributed to turbulence driven transport, the reduction of the O-point χ⊥ is consistent with turbulence reduction found in recent experiments. Finally, the implication of reduced χ⊥ at the O-point on NTM dynamics was investigated using the modified Rutherford equation that predicts a significant effect of reduced χ⊥ at the O-point on NTM saturation.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 052507 |
Journal | Physics of Plasmas |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 1 2016 |
Externally published | Yes |