Magnetic island
A magnetic island is a region of space without magnetic field sources where no field lines enter or leave. Therefore, it is bounded by a separatrix, isolating it from the rest of space. Its topology is toroidal of necessity, but its winding number can be different from 1.
In the context of magnetic confinement fusion, the basic magnetic field configuration consists of toroidally nested flux surfaces, while each flux surface is characterised by a certain value of the rotational transform or safety factor q. Magnetic islands can appear at flux surfaces with a rational value of the safety factor q = m/n. [1]
Birth
The rupture of the original topology of toroidally nested flux surfaces needed to produce the island requires the reconnection of magnetic field lines, which can only occur with finite resistivity. [2]
Transport effects
It is generally assumed that the temperature is rapidly equilibrated along the magnetic field lines inside the island, so that radial transport is effectively short-circuited across the islands, decreasing the effective size of the main plasma. [3] However, is is possible to qualify this statement somewhat by taking into account the ratio between parallel and perpendicular transport within an island. [4]
The interaction of neighbouring island chains causes the magnetic field to become stochastic (according to the Chirikov criterion [5]), resulting in enhanced (anomalous) radial transport.
See also
References
- ↑ J.H. Misguich, J.-D. Reuss, D. Constantinescu, G. Steinbrecher, M. Vlad, F. Spineanu, B. Weyssow, R. Balescu, Noble internal transport barriers and radial subdiffusion of toroidal magnetic lines, Ann. Phys. Fr. 28 (2003) 1
- ↑ F.L. Waelbroeck, Theory and observations of magnetic islands, Nucl. Fusion 49 (2009) 104025
- ↑ ITER Physics Expert Group on Confinement and Transport et al, Chapter 2: Plasma confinement and transport, Nucl. Fusion 39 (1999) 2175-2249
- ↑ B.Ph. van Milligen, A.C.A.P. van Lammeren, N.J. Lopes Cardozo, F.C. Schüller, and M. Verreck, Gradients of electron temperature and density across m=2 islands in RTP, Nucl. Fusion 33 (1993) 1119
- ↑ B.V. Chirikov, A universal instability of many-dimensional oscillator systems, Phys. Rep. 52, Issue 5 (1979) 263