Sawtooth crash in tokamak as a sequence of Multi-region Relaxed MHD equilibria

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Qu, Zhisong, Zhou, Yao, Kumar, Arunav, Doak, Joshua, Loizu, Joaquim, Hole, Matthew
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Qu, Zhisong
Zhou, Yao
Kumar, Arunav
Doak, Joshua
Loizu, Joaquim
Hole, Matthew
author_facet Qu, Zhisong
Zhou, Yao
Kumar, Arunav
Doak, Joshua
Loizu, Joaquim
Hole, Matthew
contents This study examines the sawtooth crash phenomenon in tokamak plasmas by modelling it as a sequence of Multi-region Relaxed Magnetohydrodynamic (MRxMHD) equilibria. Using the Stepped-Pressure Equilibrium Code (SPEC), we constructed a series of equilibria representing intermediate states during the sawtooth crash, with progressively increasing reconnection regions. Numerical results demonstrated that the system prefers the lower energy non-axisymmetric equilibria with islands and is eventually back to an axisymmetric state, capturing key features of the reconnection process. Comparisons with the nonlinear MHD code M3D-C1 showed remarkable agreement on the field-line topology, the safety factor, and the current profile. However, the simplified MRxMHD model does not resolve the detailed structure of the current sheet. Despite this limitation, MRxMHD offers an insightful approach and a complementary perspective to initial-value MHD simulations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_14242
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Sawtooth crash in tokamak as a sequence of Multi-region Relaxed MHD equilibria
Qu, Zhisong
Zhou, Yao
Kumar, Arunav
Doak, Joshua
Loizu, Joaquim
Hole, Matthew
Plasma Physics
This study examines the sawtooth crash phenomenon in tokamak plasmas by modelling it as a sequence of Multi-region Relaxed Magnetohydrodynamic (MRxMHD) equilibria. Using the Stepped-Pressure Equilibrium Code (SPEC), we constructed a series of equilibria representing intermediate states during the sawtooth crash, with progressively increasing reconnection regions. Numerical results demonstrated that the system prefers the lower energy non-axisymmetric equilibria with islands and is eventually back to an axisymmetric state, capturing key features of the reconnection process. Comparisons with the nonlinear MHD code M3D-C1 showed remarkable agreement on the field-line topology, the safety factor, and the current profile. However, the simplified MRxMHD model does not resolve the detailed structure of the current sheet. Despite this limitation, MRxMHD offers an insightful approach and a complementary perspective to initial-value MHD simulations.
title Sawtooth crash in tokamak as a sequence of Multi-region Relaxed MHD equilibria
topic Plasma Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.14242