Kinetic MHD Simulations of Shear Alfv\'{e}n Waves Driven by Fast Particles in a Tokamak

POSTER

Abstract

Shear Alfv\'{e}n waves (SAWs) such as the toroidal Alfv\'{e}n eigenmodes (TAEs) can be excited by fast particles in burning plasma tokamak experiments such as ITER. In this work, we conduct kinetic-MHD simulations of TAEs driven by fast particles in a tokamak geometry using the NIMROD code. For simplicity, a $q$-profile with a single gap in the SAW spectrum is adopted. A global SAW is observed in simulations. Its frequency is located in the gap, which is in good agreement with the ideal MHD frequency of the corresponding TAE. The SAW mode structures in velocity and magnetic fields resemble the characteristic mode pattern of a TAE. Further benchmarks with theory or other codes on the TAE scalings will be presented.

*Supported by National Magnetic Confinement Fusion Science Program of China Grants 2014GB124001 and 2014GB124002.

Authors

  • Zhao-Qing Hu

    • Dalian University of Technology
  • Ping Zhu

    • University of Science and Technology of China, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Charlson C. Kim

    • General Fusion Inc.
  • Zheng-Xiong Wang

    • Dalian University of Technology