Global Hybrid Simulations of Energetic Particle Effects on the n=1 Mode in Tokamaks: Internal Kink and Fishbone Instability

Abstract

Global hybrid simulations of energetic particle effects on the n=1 internal kink mode have been carried out for tokamaks. For the Internationa Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) [ITER Physics Basis Editors et al, Nucl. Fusion 39, 2137.], it is shown that alpha particle effects are stabilizing for the internal kink mode. However, the elongation of ITER reduces the stabilization effects significantly. Nonlinear simulations of the precessional drift fishbone instability for circular tokamak plasmas show that the mode saturates due to flattening of the particle distribution function near the resonance region. The mode frequency chirps down rapidly as the flattening region expands radially outward. Fluid nonlinearity reduces the saturation level.