Related papers: On the linear stability of collisionless microtear…
We present herein the results of a linear gyrokinetic analysis of electromagnetic microinstabilites in the conceptual high-$\beta$, reactor-scale, tight-aspect-ratio tokamak STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production,…
Curvature-driven instabilities are ubiquitous in magnetised fusion plasmas. By analysing the conservation laws of the gyrokinetic system of equations, we demonstrate that the well-known spatial localisation of these instabilities to regions…
In the past years we have experienced an increasing interest in understanding of the physical properties of collisionless plasmas, mostly because of the large number of astrophysical environments, e.g. the intracluster medium (ICM),…
A challenging and fundamental research problem is the better understanding and control of the turbulent transport of heat in present-day tokamak fusion experiments. Recent developments in numerical methods along with enormous gains in…
Slow dynamical changes in magnetic-field strength and invariance of the particles' magnetic moments generate ubiquitous pressure anisotropies in weakly collisional, magnetized astrophysical plasmas. This renders them unstable to fast,…
Transport in collisionless plasmas is usually called anomalous, being due to the interaction between the particles and the self-generated turbulence by their collective interactions. Because of its relevance for astrophysical and space…
Drift-reduced plasma fluid models are commonly used in plasma physics for analytics and simulations; however, the validity of such models must be verified for the regions of parameter space in which tokamak plasmas exist. By looking at the…
An electron or electron-positron beam streaming through a plasma is notoriously prone to micro-instabilities. For a dilute ultrarelativistic infinite beam, the dominant instability is a mixed mode between longitudinal two-stream and…
A quasilinear plasma transport theory that incorporates Fokker-Planck dynamical friction (drag) and pitch angle scattering is self-consistently derived from first principles for an isolated, marginally-unstable mode resonating with an…
The first combined experimental and theoretical studies of dust remobilization by plasma forces are reported. The main theoretical aspects of remobilization in fusion devices under steady state conditions are analyzed. In particular, the…
The transport of heat and particles in the relatively collisional edge regions of magnetically confined plasmas is a scientifically challenging and technologically important problem. Understanding and predicting this transport requires the…
In weakly magnetized, dilute plasmas in which thermal conduction along magnetic field lines is important, the usual convective stability criterion is modified. Instead of depending on entropy gradients, instability occurs for small…
The quasi-coherent effects in two-dimensional incompressible turbulence are analyzed starting from the test particle trajectories. They can acquire coherent aspects when the stochastic potential has slow time variation and the motion is not…
Anti-dynamo modes are usually found in spheromaks plasma devices experiments due to the fact that Cowling anti-dynamo theorem is naturally applied to axisymmetric devices and flows. In this paper full consideration is given to the existence…
The magnetorotational instability (MRI) is a fundamental mechanism determining the macroscopic dynamics of astrophysical accretion disks. In collisionless accretion flows around supermassive black holes, MRI-driven plasma turbulence…
How momentum, energy, and magnetic fields are transported in the presence of macroscopic gradients is a fundamental question in plasma physics. Answering this question is especially challenging for weakly collisional, magnetized plasmas,…
Time-dependent helium gas puff experiments have been performed on the Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST) during a two point plasma current scan in L-mode and a confinement scan at 900 kA. An evaluation of the He II spectrum line induced…
Microinstabilities drive turbulent fluctuations in inhomogeneous, magnetized plasmas. In the context of magnetic confinement fusion devices, this leads to an enhanced transport of particles, momentum, and energy, thereby degrading…
Disruptions are a serious issue in tokamaks. In a disruption, the thermal energy is lost by means of an instability which could be a resistive wall tearing mode (RWTM). During precursors to a disruption, the plasma edge region cools,…
Spherical tokamaks (STs) have many desirable features that make them an attractive choice for a future fusion power plant. Power plant viability is intrinsically related to plasma heat and particle confinement and this is often determined…