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The response of a finite conductivity plasma to resonant magnetic perturbations is studied. The equations, which are derived for the time development of magnetic islands, help one interpret the singular currents which occur under the assumption of perfect plasma conductivity. The relation to the Rutherford regime of resistive instabilities is given.
The formation, structure, and some of the consequences of magnetic islands in a tokamak plasma are discussed. These may be produced from helical current perturbations in the plasma. The existence, structure, and magnitude of the currert perturbations causing the island formation is deduced from experimental measurements of the time rate of change of the poloidal magnetic field in the ORMAK device. (MOW).
The size of a magnetic island created by a perturbing helical field in a tokamak is estimated. A helical equilibrium of a current- carrying plasma is found in a helical coordinate and the helically flowing current in the cylinder that borders the plasma is calculated. From that solution, it is concluded that the helical perturbation of (approximately)10/sup /minus/4/ of the total plasma current is sufficient to cause an island width of approximately 5% of the plasma radius. 6 refs.
Seed magnetic island formation due to a dynamically growing external source in toroidal confinement devices is modeled as an initial value forced reconnection problem. For an external source whose amplitude grows on a time scale quickly compared to the Sweet-Parker time of resistive magnetohydrodynamics, the induced reconnection is characterized by a current sheet and a reconnected flux amplitude which lags in time the source amplitude. This suggests that neoclassical tearing modes, whose excitation requires a seed magnetic island, are more difficult to cause in high Lundquist number plasmas.
An explicit formulation is developed to determine the width of a magnetic island separatrix generated by magnetic field perturbations in a general toroidal stellarator geometry. A conventional method is employed to recast the analysis in a magnetic flux coordinate system without using any simplifying approximations. The island width is seen to be proportional to the square root of the Fourier harmonic of B{sup [rho]}/B{sup [zeta]} that is in resonance with the rational value of the rotational transform, where B{sup [rho]} and B{sup [zeta]} are contravariant normal and toroidal components of the perturbed magnetic field, respectively. The procedure, which is based on a representation of three-dimensional flux surfaces by double Fourier series, allows rapid and fairly accurate calculation of the island widths in real vacuum field configurations, without the need to follow field lines through numerical integration of the field line equations. Numerical results of the island width obtained in the flux coordinate representation for the Advanced Toroidal Facility agree closely with those determined from Poincare puncture points obtained by following field lines. 22 refs., 5 tabs.
An explicit formulation is developed to determine the width of a magnetic island separatrix generated by magnetic field perturbations in a general toroidal stellarator geometry. A conventional method is employed to recast the analysis in a magnetic flux coordinate system without using any simplifying approximations. The island width is seen to be proportional to the square root of the Fourier harmonic of B{sup {rho}}/B{sup {zeta}} that is in resonance with the rational value of the rotational transform, where B{sup {rho}} and B{sup {zeta}} are contravariant normal and toroidal components of the perturbed magnetic field, respectively. The procedure, which is based on a representation of three-dimensional flux surfaces by double Fourier series, allows rapid and fairly accurate calculation of the island widths in real vacuum field configurations, without the need to follow field lines through numerical integration of the field line equations. Numerical results of the island width obtained in the flux coordinate representation for the Advanced Toroidal Facility agree closely with those determined from Poincare puncture points obtained by following field lines. 22 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab.