Sawtooth stabilization by localized electron cyclotron heating in a tokamak plasma

K. Hanada, H. Tanaka, M. Iida, S. Ide, T. Minami, M. Nakamura, T. Maekawa, Y. Terumichi, S. Tanaka, M. Yamada, J. Manickam, R. B. White

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Sawtooth oscillations (STO) in the Ohmically heated WT-3 tokamak are strongly modified or suppressed by localized-electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECH) near the q=1 surface, where q refers to the safety factor. The efect of ECH is much stronger when it is applied on the high-field side as compared to the low-field side. Complete suppression of the STO is achieved for the duration of the ECH, in most cases, when it is applied on the high-field side of a low-density plasma, provided the ECH power exceeds a threshold value. The STO stabilization is attributed to a modification of the current-density profile by hot electrons generated by ECH, which reduces the shear in the q=1 region.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1974-1977
Number of pages4
JournalPhysical review letters
Volume66
Issue number15
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1991
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Physics and Astronomy(all)

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