Derivation of a gyrokinetic model. Existence and uniqueness of specific stationary solutions

A finite Larmor radius approximation is derived from the classical Vlasov equation, in the limit of large (and uniform) external magnetic field. We also provide an heuristic derivation of the electroneutrality equation in the finite Larmor radius setting. Existence and uniqueness of a solution is proven in the stationary frame for solutions depending only on the direction parallel to the magnetic field and factorizing in the velocity variables

Control of stochasticity in magnetic field lines

We present a method of control which is able to create barriers to magnetic field line diffusion by a small modification of the magnetic perturbation. This method of control is based on a localized control of chaos in Hamiltonian systems. The aim is to modify the perturbation locally by a small control term which creates invariant tori acting as barriers to diffusion for Hamiltonian systems with two degrees of freedom. The location of the invariant torus is enforced in the vicinity of the chosen target. Given the importance of confinement in magnetic fusion devices, the method is applied to two examples with a loss of magnetic confinement. In the case of locked tearing modes, an invariant torus can be restored that aims at showing the current quench and therefore the generation of runaway electrons. In the second case, the method is applied to the control of stochastic boundaries allowing one to define a transport barrier within the stochastic boundary and therefore to monitor the volume of closed field lines

Self-regulation of turbulence bursts and transport barriers

International audienceThe interplay between turbulent bursts and transport barriers is analyzed with a simplified model of interchange turbulence in the Scrape-Off Layer of magnetically confined plasmas. The turbulent bursts spread into the transport barriers, and, depending on the competing magnitude of the burst and stopping capability of the barrier can burn through. Two models of transport barriers are presented, a hard barrier where all turbulent modes are stable in a prescribed region and a soft barrier with external plasma biasing. This process can be modeled on the basis of competing stochastic processes. For classes of probability density function of these processes one can predict the heavy tail properties of the bursts downstream from the barrier, either exponential for a leaky barrier, or with power laws, for a tight barrier. The intrinsic probing of the transport barriers by the turbulent bursts thus gives access to properties of the transport barriers. The main stochastic variables of the two models addressed here are the barrier width and the spreading distance of the turbulent bursts within the barrier together with their level of correlation. One finds that in the case of a barrier located in the Scrape-Off-Layer, the stochastic model predicts a leaky barrier with an exponential probability density function of escaping turbulent bursts in agreement with the simulation data

Controlling chaotic transport in Hamiltonian systems

With the aid of an original reformulation of the KAM theory, it is shown that a relevant control of Hamiltonian chaos is possible through suitable small perturbations whose form can be explicitly computed. In particular, it is shown that it is possible to control (reduce) the chaotic difusion in the phase space of a 1 and half degrees of freedom Hamiltonian which models the difusion of charged test particles in "turbulent" electric fields across the confining magnetic field in controlled thermonuclear fusion devices. Though still far from practical applications, this result suggests that some strategy to control turbulent transport in magnetized plasmas, in particular tokamaks, is conceivable

Transport barrier for the radial diffusion due to the ExB drift motion of guiding centers in cylindrical confinement geometry

13 pages, 9 figures, 1 columnInternational audienceWe consider the radial transport of test particles due to the ExB drift motion in the guiding center approximation. Using an explicit expression to modify the electrostatic potential, we show that it is possible to construct a transport barrier which suppresses radial transport. We propose an algorithm for the implementation of this local modification computed from an electrostatic potential known on a spatio-temporal grid. The number of particles which escape the inner region defined by the barrier measures the efficiency of the control. We show that the control is robust by showing a significant reduction of radial transport, when applied with a reduced number of probes aligned on a circle

Optimization of turbulence reduced model free parameters based on L-mode experiments and 2D transport simulations

International audienceIn this paper, a κ−ϵ transport model is presented as a turbulence reduction tool for a typical ohmic L‐mode discharge plasma in a divertor‐configurated tokamak. Taking a Tokamak à configuration variable (TCV) study case, a feedback loop procedure is performed using the SolEdge2D code to acquire plasma diffusivity at the outer mid‐plane. The κ−ϵ model is calibrated through its free parameters with the aim of recovering the diffusivity calculated in the feedback procedure. Finally, it is shown that the model can self‐consistently calculate diffusivity in the whole domain, recovering the poloidal asymmetries due to interchange instabilities

Reduction and approximation in gyrokinetics

The gyrokinetics formulation of plasmas in strong magnetic fields aims at the elimination of the angle associated with the Larmor rotation of charged particles around the magnetic field lines. In a perturbative treatment or as a time-averaging procedure, gyrokinetics is in general an approximation to the true dynamics. Here we discuss the conditions under which gyrokinetics is either an approximation or an exact operation in the framework of reduction of dynamical systems with symmetryComment: 15 pages late

Impact of safety factor and magnetic shear profiles on edge turbulence in circular limited geometry

International audienceThe impact of magnetic configuration on edge turbulence properties in circular limiter geometry is investigated using TOKAM3X, a three-dimensional (3D), first-principle, fluid code for edge plasma. The theoretical spatial tilting of magnetic shear on turbulence fluctuations is recovered. Magnetic shear is found to generate or enhance poloidal high/low field sides (HFS/LFS) and up/down asymmetries. A simulation mimicking the impact of an X-point on circular limiter geometry leads to the formation of two transport barriers that are stable in time, thus leading to the improvement of core particle confinement and to reduction of radial turbulent transport. The magnetic shear, which also strongly enhances the E × B shear, is responsible for the barrier formation