Hybrid simulation of energetic particle effects on tearing modes in tokamak plasmas

The effects of energetic ions on stability of tearing mode are investigated by global kinetic/MHD hybrid simulations in a low beta tokamak plasma. The kinetic effects of counter circulating energetic ions from the non-adiabatic response are found to be strongly destabilizing while the effects from the adiabatic response are stabilizing. The net effect with both adiabatic and non-adiabatic contributions is destabilizing. On the other hand, the kinetic effects of co-circulating energetic ions from the non-adiabatic response are calculated to be weakly stabilizing while the corresponding adiabatic contribution is destabilizing for small energetic ion beta. The net effect is weakly stabilizing. The dependence of kinetic effects on energetic ion beta, gyroradius, and speed is studied systematically and the results agree in large part with the previous analytic results for the kinetic effects of circulating particles. For trapped energetic ions, their effects on tearing mode stability are dominated by the adiabatic response due to large banana orbit width and strong poloidal variation of particle pressure. The net effect of trapped energetic particles on tearing modes is much more destabilizing as compared to that of counter circulating particles at the same beta value. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4736956]