Effect of rigid toroidal rotation on the stability of a tokamak plasma to tearing modes

Abstract

The stability of tearing modes in the presence of a rigid toroidal rotation of the plasma is examined. The effect of rotation is modeled by a centrifugal force, which in the cylindrical limit reduces to a uniform force transverse to the plasma column. The influence of this centrifugal force on the outer region matching data Δ, which provides a measure of the energy available for driving the tearing mode, is numerically investigated. It is found that the stability properties of the mode in the presence of the flow are sensitive to the equilibrium density profile.