Tokamak equilibria with nearly zero central current: the current hole

Author:
  • TFTakaaki Fujita
    Takaaki Fujita
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Abstract
The observation of stable sustainment of the ‘current hole’, namely the nearly zero current density region in the central part of a tokamak plasma, has opened a new class of configurations in tokamak plasmas, and a variety of research from the viewpoints of equilibrium, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) stability, particle orbits and radial transport has been generated. Some theories and codes have been tested and extended by being applied to extreme conditions in the current hole with very weak poloidal field. The current hole is generated due to a transient negative toroidal electric field established when a large off-axis non-inductive current is rapidly formed. It has been observed in high confinement plasmas with a large fraction of bootstrap current in advanced tokamak operation. The current hole is very stiff against current drive, which suggests that it is a saturated or self-organized system. Appearance of the current hole in ITER and DEMO would be expected in some of the operation scenarios, and its influence and its control methods have been studied. Results of experimental and theoretical studies on the current hole are reviewed.

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