Direct prediction of saturated neoclassical tearing modes in slab using an equilibrium approach

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Main Authors: Balkovic, Erol, Loizu, Joaquim, Graves, Jonathan P., Huang, Yi-Min, Smiet, Christopher B.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Balkovic, Erol
Loizu, Joaquim
Graves, Jonathan P.
Huang, Yi-Min
Smiet, Christopher B.
author_facet Balkovic, Erol
Loizu, Joaquim
Graves, Jonathan P.
Huang, Yi-Min
Smiet, Christopher B.
contents We demonstrate for the first time that the nonlinear saturation of neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs) can be found directly using a variational principle based on Taylor relaxation, without needing to simulate the intermediate, resistivity-dependent dynamics. As in previous investigations of classical tearing mode saturation (Loizu et al. 2020; Loizu & Bonfiglio 2023), we make use of SPEC (Hudson et al. 2012), an equilibrium solver based on the variational principle of the Multi-Region relaxed MHD, featuring stepped pressure profiles and arbitrary magnetic topology. We work in slab geometry and employ a simple bootstrap current model $J_\textrm{bs} = C \nabla p$ to study the bootstrap-driven tearing modes, scanning over the asymptotic matching parameter $Δ'$ and the bootstrap current strength. Saturated island widths produced by SPEC agree well with the predictions of an initial value resistive MHD code (Huang & Bhattacharjee 2016) while being orders of magnitude faster to calculate. Additionally, we observe good agreement with a simple analytical Modified Rutherford Equation, without requiring any fitting coefficients. The match is obtained for both linearly unstable classical tearing modes in the presence of bootstrap current, and neoclassical tearing modes, which are linearly stable but nonlinear-unstable due to the effects of the bootstrap current
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_03727
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Direct prediction of saturated neoclassical tearing modes in slab using an equilibrium approach
Balkovic, Erol
Loizu, Joaquim
Graves, Jonathan P.
Huang, Yi-Min
Smiet, Christopher B.
Plasma Physics
We demonstrate for the first time that the nonlinear saturation of neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs) can be found directly using a variational principle based on Taylor relaxation, without needing to simulate the intermediate, resistivity-dependent dynamics. As in previous investigations of classical tearing mode saturation (Loizu et al. 2020; Loizu & Bonfiglio 2023), we make use of SPEC (Hudson et al. 2012), an equilibrium solver based on the variational principle of the Multi-Region relaxed MHD, featuring stepped pressure profiles and arbitrary magnetic topology. We work in slab geometry and employ a simple bootstrap current model $J_\textrm{bs} = C \nabla p$ to study the bootstrap-driven tearing modes, scanning over the asymptotic matching parameter $Δ'$ and the bootstrap current strength. Saturated island widths produced by SPEC agree well with the predictions of an initial value resistive MHD code (Huang & Bhattacharjee 2016) while being orders of magnitude faster to calculate. Additionally, we observe good agreement with a simple analytical Modified Rutherford Equation, without requiring any fitting coefficients. The match is obtained for both linearly unstable classical tearing modes in the presence of bootstrap current, and neoclassical tearing modes, which are linearly stable but nonlinear-unstable due to the effects of the bootstrap current
title Direct prediction of saturated neoclassical tearing modes in slab using an equilibrium approach
topic Plasma Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.03727