학술논문

Non-existence of Normal Tokamak Equilibria with Negative Central Current
Document Type
Technical Report
Author
Source
Other Information: PBD: 18 Feb 2003
Subject
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY ASPECT RATIO
CURRENT DENSITY
MAGNETIC SURFACES
NON-INDUCTIVE CURRENT DRIVE
VIRIAL THEOREM
EQUILIBRIUM EQUILIBRIUM, MHD-TOROIDAL
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS (MHD)
RECONNECTION
EQUILIBRIUM, MHD-TOROIDAL
Language
English
Abstract
Recent tokamak experiments employing off-axis, non-inductive current drive have found that a large central current hole can be produced. The current density is measured to be approximately zero in this region, though in principle there was sufficient current-drive power for the central current density to have gone significantly negative. Recent papers have used a large aspect-ratio expansion to show that normal MHD equilibria (with axisymmetric nested flux surfaces, non-singular fields, and monotonic peaked pressure profiles) can not exist with negative central current. We extend that proof here to arbitrary aspect ratio, using a variant of the virial theorem to derive a relatively simple integral constraint on the equilibrium. However, this constraint does not, by itself, exclude equilibria with non-nested flux surfaces, or equilibria with singular fields and/or hollow pressure profiles that may be spontaneously generated.