CRONOS is a suite of numerical codes for the predictive/interpretative simulation of a full tokamak discharge. It integrates, in a modular structure, a 1D transport solver with general 2D magnetic equilibria, several heat, particle and impurities transport models, as well as heat, particle and momentum sources. This paper gives a first comprehensive description of the CRONOS suite: overall structure of the code, main available models, details on the simulation workflow and numerical implementation. Some examples of applications to the analysis of experimental discharges and the predictions of ITER scenarios are also given.

We show in this paper that geodesic acoustic modes (GAMs) can be efficiently excited by a population of fast ions even when Landau damping on thermal ions is accounted for. We report in particular fully kinetic calculations of the GAM dispersion relation and its complete solution. Written under a variational form, the quasi-neutrality condition, together with the kinetic Vlasov equation, leads to the density of exchanged energy between particles and the mode. In particular, a linear threshold for the GAMs excitation is derived. Two examples of fast ion distribution have been discussed analytically. It turns out that particles with high perpendicular energy compared to the parallel resonance energy are most responsible for the excitation of the mode. Subsequent numerical simulations of circular plasmas using GYSELA code have been carried out. In particular, the linear kinetic threshold has been reproduced during the excitation phase, and a nonlinear saturation has been observed. Analysis in the phase space of the evolution of the equilibrium distribution function is presented and the saturation level quantified.

The impact on turbulent transport of geodesic acoustic modes excited by energetic particles is evidenced for the first time in flux-driven 5D gyrokinetic simulations using the Gysela code. Energetic geodesic acoustic modes (EGAMs) are excited in a regime with a transport barrier in the outer radial region. The interaction between EGAMs and turbulence is such that turbulent transport can be enhanced in the presence of EGAMs, with the subsequent destruction of the transport barrier. This scenario could be particularly critical in those plasmas, such as burning plasmas, exhibiting a rich population of suprathermal particles capable of exciting energetic modes.Understanding turbulent transport is crucial in numerous plasma physics frameworks, ranging from plasma laboratories such as nuclear fusion devices 1 to astrophysical systems such as the solar tachocline 2 or the atmospheres 3 . In this letter, we focus on the turbulent transport in toroidal nuclear fusion devices (tokamaks), where accurate predictions are essential on the route towards the steady-state production of energy. Together with turbulence, energetic particles (EPs) constitute a ubiquitous component of current and future tokamaks, due to both nuclear reactions and heating systems. EPs are characterized by energies larger than the thermal energy. Whereas the impact of turbulence on EP transport has been analyzed and found to be weak 4 , the effect of EPs on turbulence has not been much studied so far (see e.g. Ref. 5) and represents the aim of our study. This analysis is done via the excitation by EPs of a class of modes naturally existing in tokamaks: the geodesic acoustic modes (GAMs) 6 , which are the oscillatory component of large scale E × B zonal flows. The EP-driven GAMs are called EGAMs. These modes have been predicted theoretically 7,8 , observed experimentally 9,10 and reported very recently numerically in the absence of turbulence 11 in gyrokinetic simulations with the 5D Gysela code 12 . The motivation of the present work relies upon fluid simulations where the turbulence level was controlled by GAMs in the core/edge transitional regime 13 . In addition, experimental evidence of the role of GAMs in the edgeturbulence suppression has been reported for the first time during the analysis of the L-H transition in the AS-DEX Upgrade tokamak 14 . However, in the context of core-turbulence suppression, the role of GAMs is less evident for several reasons. First, these modes are Landau damped in the core plasma. Second, since they are nonlinearly generated by turbulence, their external control a) Electronic mail:david.zarzoso-fernandez@polytechnique.org; Current address: Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, EU-RATOM Association, Boltzmannstr. 2, Garching D-85748, Germany has proven difficult. Last, their frequency ω GAM is close to the characteristic turbulence frequency ω turb , which means that the shearing rate provided by GAMs might be large compared to the autocorrelation time. In that respect, theoretical predictions of the shearing effect ...