Nonlinear dynamics of the reversed shear Alfvén eigenmode in burning plasmas

In a tokamak fusion reactor operated at steady state,the equilibrium magnetic field is likely to have reversed shear in the core region,as the noninductive bootstrap current profile generally peaks off-axis.The reversed shear Alfvén eigenmode(RSAE)as a unique branch of the shear Alfvén wave in this equilibrium,can exist with a broad spectrum in wavenumber and frequency,and be resonantly driven unstable by energetic particles(EP).After briefly discussing the RSAE linear properties in burning plasma condition,we review several key topics of the nonlinear dynamics for the RSAE through both wave-EP resonance and wave-wave coupling channels,and illustrate their potentially important role in reactor-scale fusion plasmas.By means of simplified hybrid MHD-kinetic simulations,the RSAEs are shown to have typically broad phase space resonance structure with both circulating and trapped EP,as results of weak/vanishing magnetic shear and relatively low frequency.Through the route of wave-EP nonlinearity,the dominant saturation mechanism is mainly due to the transported resonant EP radially decoupling with the localized RSAE mode structure,and the resultant EP transport generally has a convective feature.The saturated RSAEs also undergo various nonlinear couplings with other collective oscillations.Two typical routes as parametric decay and modulational instability are studied using nonlinear gyrokinetic theory,and applied to the scenario of spontaneous excitation by a finite amplitude pump RSAE.Multiple RSAEs could naturally couple and induce the spectral energy cascade into a low frequency Alfvénic mode,which may effectively transfer the EP energy to fuel ions via collisionless Landau damping.Moreover,zero frequency zonal field structure could be spontaneously excited by modulation of the pump RSAE envelope,and may also lead to saturation of the pump RSAE by both scattering into stable domain and local distortion of the continuum structure.

Unexpanded nonlinear electromagnetic gyrokinetic equations for magnetized plasmas

Nonlinear electromagnetic gyrokinetic equations have been constructed without expanding the field variables into background and finite but small-amplitude fluctuating components. At the long-wavelength limit, these unexpanded nonlinear gyrokinetic equations recover the wellknown drift-kinetic equations. At the expanded limit, they recover the usual nonlinear gyrokinetic equations. These equations can therefore be applied to long-term simulations covering from microscopic to macroscopic spatial scales.

Self-consistent kinetic theory with nonlinear wave-particle resonances

We have developed, based on the oscillating-center transformation, a general theoretical approach for self-consistent plasma dynamics including, explicitly, effects of nonlinear(higherorder) wave-particle resonances. A specific example is then given for low-frequency responses of trapped particles in axisymmetric tokamaks. Possible applications to transport as well as nonlinear wave growth/damping are also briefly discussed.

Kinetic Theories of Geodesic Acoustic Modes：Radial Structure,Linear Excitation by Energetic Particles and Nonlinear Saturation＇

Geodesic acoustic modes（GAMs）are oscillating zonal mode structures unique to toroidal plasmas and are capable of regulating microscopic turbulence and associated transports.Inthispaper,three important aspects of GAM dynamics are investigated,namely（1） GAM continuous spectrum and its mode conversion to kinetic GAM （KGAM）;（2） 1inear excitation of energetic particle induced GAM （EGAM） and its coupling to the GAM continuum, and （3） nonlinear saturationofEGAMviawaveparticletrapping.TheanalogybetweentheGAM

Kinetic theory of geodesic acoustic modes in toroidal plasmas:a brief review

Geodesic acoustic modes（GAM） are oscillating zonal structures unique to toroidal plasmas,and have been extensively studied in the past decades due to their potential capabilities of regulating microscopic turbulences and associated anomalous transport.This article reviews linear and nonlinear theories of GAM;with emphases on kinetic treatment,system nonuniformity and realistic magnetic geometry,in order to reflect the realistic experimental conditions.Specifically,in the linear physics,the resonant wave-particle interactions are discussed,with the application to resonant excitation by energetic particles（EPs）.The theory of EP-induced GAM（EGAM） is applied to realistic devices for the interpretation of experimental observations,and global effects due to coupling to GAM continuum are also discussed.Meanwhile,in the nonlinear physics,the spontaneous GAM excitation by microscale turbulences is reviewed,including the effects of various system nonuniformities.A unified theoretical framework of GAM/EGAM is then constructed based on our present understandings.The first-principle-based GAM/EGAM theories reviewed here,thus,provide the tools needed for the understanding and interpretation of experimental/numerical results.

Fishbone Instability Excited by Barely Trapped Electrons

Fishbone instability excited by barely trapped suprathermal electrons （BTSEs） in tokamaks is investigated theoretically. The frequency of the mode is found to close to procession frequency of BTSEs. The growth rate of the mode is much smaller than that of the ideal magnetohytrodynamic （MHD） internal kink mode that is in contrast to the case of trapped ion driven fishbone instability. The analyses also show that spatial density gradient reversal is necessary for the instability. The correlation of the results with experiments is discussed.

Theoretical and numerical studies of chorus waves: A review

Theoretical and numerical models of chorus waves are reviewed in this paper. Specifically, we focus on the nonlinear wave particle interactions and the current understanding of the frequency chirping of rising tone chorus waves. Various other related topics, such as the optimal excitation condition of chorus, the formation of subpackets, and the non-adiabaticity of the nonlinear interaction are also discussed. We end this review paper with a short list of questions of chorus waves that are still under research and debate.

A Gyrokinetic simulation model for low frequency electromagnetic fluctuations in magnetized plasmas

We present a new model for simulating the electromagnetic fluctuations with frequencies much lower than the ion cyclotron frequency in plasmas confined in general magnetic configurations.This novel model(termed as GK-E&B)employs nonlinear gyrokinetic equations formulated in terms of electromagnetic fields along with momentum balance equations for solving fields.It,thus,not only includes kinetic effects,such as wave-particle interaction and microscopic(ion Larmor radius scale)physics;but also is computationally more efficient than the conventional formulation described in terms of potentials.As a benchmark,we perform linear as well as nonlinear simulations of the kinetic Alfvén wave;demonstrating physics in agreement with the analytical theories.