Summary of the 10th Conference on Magnetically Confined Fusion Theory and Simulation(CMCFTS)

This paper gives a summary of the organization and the presentations delivered at the 10th Conference on Magnetically Confined Fusion Theory and Simulation(CMCFTS)held in Zhuhai,China,from 28th to 31st October 2022.The conference focused on the latest progress in the research of the magnetic confined fusion plasma theory and simulations,as well as the largescale numerical simulation techniques developed in recent years.This conference is held both online and offline,with about 110 domestic participants from 18 institutes participating in the live conference,and the statistical data from the live broadcast platform indicated that the online conference attracted over 20000 views per day.A summary of the conference is given,and the history of the CMCFTS is presented.A brief introduction to the poster section is also included in this paper.

Solving Poisson equation with slowing-down equilibrium distribution for global gyrokinetic simulation

Fusion-born alpha particles in burning plasmas are usually regarded as have a slowing-down distribution,which differs significantly from the Maxwellian distribution of thermal particles in velocity space.A generalized multi-point average method has been developed for gyrokinetic Poisson equation with slowing-down equilibrium distribution using optimization in Fourier space.Its accuracy is verified in both long and short wavelength limits.The influence of changing equilibrium distribution from Maxwellian to slowing-down on gyrokinetic Poisson equation is analyzed to illustrate the significance of the new method.The effect of critical speed in the slowingdown distribution on the field solver is also presented.This method forms an important basis for global gyrokinetic simulation of low-frequency drift Alfvénic turbulence in burning plasmas.

Validation of the current and pressure coupling schemes with nonlinear simulations of TAE and analysis on the linear stability of tearing mode in the presence of energetic particles

Both current and pressure coupling schemes have been adopted in the hybrid kinetic–magnetohydrodynamic code CLT-K recently.Numerical equivalences between these two coupling schemes are strictly verified under different approximations.First,when considering only the perturbed distribution function of energetic particles(EPs),the equivalence can be proved analytically.Second,when both the variations of the magnetic field and the EP distribution function are included,the current and pressure coupling schemes numerically produce the same result in the nonlinear simulations.On this basis,the influences of co-/counter-passing and trapped EPs on the linear stabilities of the m/n=2/1 tearing mode(TM)have been investigated(where m and n represent the poloidal and toroidal mode numbers,respectively).The results of scanningβh of EPs show that the co-passing and trapped EPs are found to stabilize the TM,while the counter-passing EPs tend to destabilize the TM.The behind(de)stabilization mechanisms of the TM by EPs are carefully analyzed.Furthermore,after exceeding critical EP betas,the same branch of the high-frequency mode is excited by co-/counterpassing and trapped EPs,which is identified as the m/n=2/1 energetic particle mode.

Simulation of electron cyclotron current drive and electron cyclotron resonant heating for the HL-2A tokamak

A quasi-linear formalism is developed for relativistic particles. It is self-consistent including spatial diffusion. An attempt is made to simulate the process of electron cyclotron resonant heating （ECRH） and electron cyclotron current drive （ECCD） for the HL-2A tokamak. Temperature oscillating regimes in Tore Supra diagnosed by MHD activity seem to be reproduced in the simulation. The special feature in this paper is to see the resonance in the long time scale for relativistic plasma.

An Island Coalescence Scenario for Near-Earth Current Disruption in the Magnetotail

A current disruption and dipolarization scenario associated with island coalescences in the near-Earth region is proposed. The thin and elongated current-sheet built up during the growth phase is unstable due to a tearing mode instability that leads to formation of multiple magnetic islands （or magnetic flux ropes in the three dimensional case） in the near-Earth region. The growth rate of the tearing mode shoual be different in different locations because the rate is in general determined by the external driving force and the local plasma sheet properties. When the rate of the magnetic reconnection in the mid-tail region around 20RE is much larger than that in other locations, the strong bulk earthward flows resulting from the fast reconnection in the mid-tail drive the earthward convection and the coalescence of the magnetic islands. Consequently, the cross-tail current in the near-Earth region is suddenly disrupted and the geometry of the magnetic field changes from tall-like to dipolar-like in the ideal time scale. This proposed scenario is tested by Hall MHD simulation and is compared with the observations.

Long-time evolution of charged grains in plasma under harmonic external force and after being withdrawn

Evolution of the charged grains in a two-dimensional dusty plasma under a spatially harmonic external force,in particular,their long-time behaviors after the force has been withdrawn,is studied by using molecular dynamics simulation.Under an external force and a grain–grain interaction force,initially homogeneously distributed grains can reach a quasistationary state in the form of a disk crystal.After the external force is withdrawn,the disk moves initially with its size and shape nearly unchanged until it rapidly stops moving,and eventually the disk grain rotates like a vortex.The time needed to reach the final state increases with the strength of the initial external force increasing.

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.

Observations of mode frequency increase and the appearance of ITB during the m/n=1/1 kink mode in EAST high electron temperature long pulse operation

A new long-pulse high electron temperature(Te)regime has been achieved on experimental advanced superconducting tokamak by pure radio frequency heating.In this new scenario,there are mainly two confinement states involving two magneto-hydrodynamic(MHD)modes,one of which is identified as m/n=1/1 kink mode(where m and n are the poloidal and toroidal mode numbers,respectively).The frequency evolution of the kink mode is investigated through the three-dimensional,toroidal,and nonlinear Hall-MHD code CLT.We firstly find that the frequency of the m/n=1/1 kink mode significantly increases during each sawtooth crash and then confirmed it through the experimental data.The simulation results indicate that the increase of the mode frequency is mainly due to the significant increase of the electron diamagnetic frequency nearby the reconnection region.We have also observed the internal transport barrier(ITB)during the m/n=1/1 kink mode.To further investigate this m/n=1/1 kink mode in this new regime,the multi-scale interactions between the m/n=1/1 kink mode and turbulence are discussed.

Simulation on the transition of electrostatic instabilities in EAST steady-state scenario

The parameter dependence of transition between electrostatic instabilities is studied using gyrokinetic simulation based on a real discharge of steady-state scenario in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak.The scan of radial locations shows that trapped electron mode(TEM)dominates around the core while the ion temperature gradient mode(ITG)simultaneously dominates outside.The maximum growth rate of TEM appears aroundρ=0.24,where the maximum electron temperature gradient R/LTelocates,ρis the normalized poloidal flux.Effects of the parameters on the transition between TEM and ITG instability are studied atρ=0.24.It is found that TEM dominates in the scanning with individually changing R/LTe from 2.50 to 25.02 or the density gradient R/L_(n)from 1.38 to 13.76.Meanwhile,the electron-ion temperature ratio T_(e)/T_(i)is found to destabilize TEM,the effect of Teis more sensitive than that of T_(i).The dominant instability diagrams in the(R/L_(Te),R/L_(Ti))plane at different T_(e)/T_(i)and R/Lnare numerically obtained,which clearly show the parameter range of the dominant TEM or dominant ITG instability region.It is found that the dominant TEM region becomes narrower in the plane by decreasing R/L_(n)when T_(e)/T_(i)>0.5.

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.

Generation of Electric Field and Net Charge in Hall Reconnection

Generation of Hall electric field and net charge associated initial conditions of plasma density and magnetic field. with magnetic reconnection is studied under different With inclusion of the Hall effects, decoupling of the electron and ion motions leads to the formation of a narrow layer with strong electric field and large net charge density along the separatrix. The asymmetry of the plasma density or magnetic field or both across the current sheet will largely increase the magnitude of the electric field and net charge. The results indicate that the asymmetry of the magnetic field is more effective in producing larger electric field and charge density. The electric field and net charge are always much larger in the low density or/and high magnetic field side than those in the high density or/and low magnetic field side. Both the electric field and net charge density are linearly dependent on the ratios of the plasma density or the square of the magnetic field across the current sheet. For the case with both initial asymmetries of the magnetic field and density, rather large Hall electric field and charge density are generated.

A Simulation Study of Hall Effect on Double Tearing Modes

A Hall magnetohydrodynamics （MHD） simulation is carried out to study the dynamic process of double tearing mode. The results indicated that the growth rates in the earlier nonlinear and transition phases agree with the previous results. With further development of reconnection, the current sheet thickness is much smaller than the ion inertia length, which leads to a strong influence of the Hall effects. As a result, the reconnection in the late nonlinear phase exhibits an explosive nature with a time scale nearly independent of resistivity. A localized and severely intensified current density is observed and the maximum kinetic energy is over one order of magnitude higher in Hall MHD than that in resistive MHD.

Nonlinear Coupling of Reversed Shear Alfvén Eigenmode and Toroidal Alfvén Eigenmode during Current Ramp

Two novel nonlinear mode coupling processes for reversed shear Alfvén eigenmode(RSAE) nonlinear saturation are proposed and investigated. In the first process, the RSAE nonlinearly couples to a co-propagating toroidal Alfvén eigenmode(TAE) with the same toroidal and poloidal mode numbers, and generates a geodesic acoustic mode. In the second process, the RSAE couples to a counter-propagating TAE and generates an ion acoustic wave quasi-mode. The condition for the two processes to occur is favored during current ramp. Both the processes contribute to effectively saturate the Alfvénic instabilities, as well as nonlinearly transfer of energy from energetic fusion alpha particles to fuel ions in burning plasmas.

Self-Organization of Charged Particulates in the Presence of External Force

Evolution of spatial distribution of charged particulates under the action of an external force is investigated. It is found that starting from a homogeneous Maxwellian distribution of particulates, clusters can form and aggregate. The evolution process, as well as the asymptotic number and configuration of the clusters formed, depends strongly on the strength of the external force. The particulates in most of the final clusters are in the crystal state, as can also be deduced from the corresponding velocity and auto-correlation functions.

PDRK:A General Kinetic Dispersion Relation Solver for Magnetized Plasma

A general,fast,and effective approach is developed for numerical calculation of kinetic plasma linear dispersion relations.The plasma dispersion function is approximated by J-pole expansion.Subsequently,the dispersion relation is transformed to a standard matrix eigenvalue problem of an equivalent linear system.Numerical solutions for the least damped or fastest growing modes using an 8-pole expansion are generally accurate;more strongly damped modes are less accurate,but are less likely to be of physical interest.In contrast to conventional approaches,such as Newton＇s iterative method,this approach can give either all the solutions in the system or a few solutions around the initial guess.It is also free from convergence problems.The approach is demonstrated for electrostatic dispersion equations with one-dimensional and twodimensional wavevectors,and for electromagnetic kinetic magnetized plasma dispersion relation for bi-Maxwellian distribution with relative parallel velocity flows between species.

Sawtooth-like oscillations and steady states caused by the m/n=2/1 double tearing mode

The sawtooth-like oscillations resulting from the m/n=2/1 double tearing mode(DTM)are numerically investigated through the three-dimensional,toroidal,nonlinear resistive-MHD code(CLT).We find that the nonlinear evolution of the m/n=2/1 DTM can lead to sawtooth-like oscillations,which are similar to those driven by the kink mode.The perpendicular thermal conductivity and the external heating rate can significantly alter the behaviors of the DTM driven sawtooth-like oscillations.With a high perpendicular thermal conductivity,the system quickly evolves into a steady state with m/n=2/1 magnetic islands and helical flow.However,with a low perpendicular thermal conductivity,the system tends to exhibit sawtooth-like oscillations.With a sufficiently high or low heating rate,the system exhibits sawtooth-like oscillations,while with an intermediate heating rate,the system quickly evolves into a steady state.At the steady state,there exist the non-axisymmetric magnetic field and strong radial flow,and both are with helicity of m/n=2/1.Like the steady state with m/n=1/1 radial flow,which is beneficial for preventing the helium ash accumulation in the core,the steady state with m/n=2/1 radial flow might also be a good candidate for the advanced steady state operations in future fusion reactors.We also find that the behaviors of the sawtooth-like oscillations are almost independent of tokamak geometry,which implies that the steady state with saturated m/n=2/1 islands might exist in different tokamaks.

A nonlinear wave coupling algorithm and its programing and application in plasma turbulences

The fully developed turbulence can be regarded as a nonlinear system,with wave coupling inside,which causes the nonlinear energy to transfer,and drives the turbulence to develop further or be suppressed.Spectral analysis is one of the most effective methods to study turbulence system.In order to apply it to the study of the nonlinear wave coupling process of edge plasma turbulence,an efficient algorithm based on spectral analysis technology is proposed to solve the nonlinear wave coupling equation.The algorithm is based on a mandatory temporal static condition with the nonideal spectra separated from the ideal spectra.The realization idea and programing flow are given.According to the characteristics of plasma turbulence,the simulation data are constructed and used to verify the algorithm and its implementation program.The simulation results and experimental results show the accuracy of the algorithm and the corresponding program,which can play a great role in the studying the energy transfer in edge plasma turbulences.As an application,the energy cascade analysis of typical edge plasma turbulence is carried out by using the results of a case calculation.Consequently,a physical picture of the energy transfer in a kind of fully developed turbulence is constructed,which confirms that the energy transfer in this turbulent system develops from lower-frequency region to higher-frequency region and from linear growing wave to damping wave.

MHD Equilibrium Configuration Reconstructions for HL-2A Tokamak

The EFIT （Equilibrium Fitting） code is modified for the equilibrium configuration reconstruction in HL-2A. Signals from Langmuir probe （LP） at the divertor target plates are employed in the reconstruction of divertor configurations. The results show that discharge #2895 starts with a limiter configuration and develops gradually into a divertor configuration after t = 230 ms. This transition process is clearly demonstrated by the LP signals for the reconstruction. The profiles of plasma parameters such as safety factor q, pressure and current density as well as the evolution of major shape parameters of plasma, such as the boundary magnetic fluxes, the positions of both x-point and magnetic axis, are calculated from the reconstructed configurations. The possibility to apply the method to the swing of strike point on the target plate is 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

Effect of inner-surface roughness of conical target on laser absorption and fast electron generation

The effect of inner-surface roughness of conical targets on the generation of fast electrons in the laser-cone interaction is investigated using particle-in-cell simulation. It is found that the surface roughness can reduce the fast-electron number （in the energy range E 〉 1 MeV） and energy, as compared to that from a cone with smooth inner wall. A scaling law for the laser reflectivity based on the vacuum-heating model is derived. Both theory and simulation indicate that laser reflection increases with the height-to-width ratio of the periodic inner surface structure and approaches that of a smooth cone as this ratio becomes zero.