Low n electromagnetic modes in spherical tokamaks

Abstract

The performance of spherical tokamak reactors depends on plasma β, and an upper limit is set by long-wavelength kinetic ballooning modes (KBMs). We examine how these modes become unstable in spherical-tokamak reactor relevant plasmas, which may contain significant fast-ion pressure. In a series of numerically generated equilibria of increasing β, the KBM becomes unstable at sufficiently high plasma β, and for such cases, it is also significantly unstable even in the long-wavelength limit. The β threshold for the KBMs is similar to the ideal Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) threshold, and in cases without fast ions, their frequencies are as predicted by diamagnetic-drift stabilised MHD. To isolate and explore the KBMs, simulations are performed where the pressure gradient is entirely due to the density profile, or entirely due to the temperature profile; the resulting KBMs have similar properties in the long-wavelength regime. The introduction of energetic ions restricts the KBMs to longer wavelengths, and reduces the β threshold somewhat; for parameter regimes of current-day devices, this is such long wavelength that a global analysis would become necessary. Mode frequencies in plasmas with a significant fast particle population are seen to be controlled by fast particle precession frequencies.