[Table of Contents]

Plasma and Fusion Research

Volume 5, S1016 (2010)

Regular Articles

Intrinsic Rotation of a Magnetic Island with Finite Width
Ken UZAWA, Akihiro ISHIZAWA and Noriyoshi NAKAJIMA
National Institute for Fusion Science, 322-6 Oroshi-cho Toki-city, GIFU 509-5292, Japan
(Received 19 January 2009 / Accepted 14 July 2009 / Published 26 March 2010)

Abstract

The rotation direction of a magnetic island in the saturation regime and the underlying physical mechanism are numerically investigated based on a four-field model that includes the effects of both ion and electron diamagnetic drifts as well as parallel ion motion. It is found that diamagnetic effects vanish inside the island, and that the rotation direction is determined by nonlinearly generated zonal flow. The direction of zonal flow is sensitive to the viscosity and the finite Larmor radius (FLR) effect. The radial mode structure of zonal flow is found to be deformed by that of other modes as the viscosity increases. We have also shown that the FLR effect enhances island rotation toward the ion diamagnetic drift direction through energy transfer to the zonal flow by a nonlinear ion diamagnetic stress tensor.

Keywords

island rotation, neoclassical tearing mode, two fluid model, zonal flow

DOI: 10.1585/pfr.5.S1016

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This paper may be cited as follows:

Ken UZAWA, Akihiro ISHIZAWA and Noriyoshi NAKAJIMA, Plasma Fusion Res. 5, S1016 (2010).