Numerical study of ion orbits in EAST plasmas with a current-reversal equilibrium configuration

Abstract

By solving the Grad-Shafranov equation in the cylindrical coordinate system, we numerically obtain the tokamak plasma equilibrium configurations of the conventional mode and the high-to-lowfield-side current-reversal equilibrium mode (HL-CREC) by using the discharge parameters for the Experimental Advanced Superconductor Tokamak (EAST). By coupling with the particle's motion equation, we obtain the orbits of trapped particles and passing particles under both equilibrium configurations. We find that the orbit of the passing particle in the HL-CREC is wholly confined on the low-field side and that the half width of the banana orbit of trapped particles increases greatly compared with those in the conventional equilibrium configuration. In addition, the ion loss is studied based on the Monte Carlo method. The results show that for ions near the plasma edge, a much high ion loss rate can be obtained in HL-CREC than that in the conventional equilibrium configuration.