Influence of externally applied magnetic perturbations on neoclassical tearing modes at ASDEX Upgrade

Abstract

The influence of externally applied magnetic perturbations (MPs) on neoclassical tearing modes (NTM) and the plasma rotation in general is investigated at the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak (AUG). The low n resonant components of the applied field exert local torques and influence the stability of NTMs. The non-resonant components of the error field do not influence MHD modes directly but slow down the plasma rotation globally due to a neoclassical toroidal viscous torque (NTV). Both components slow down the plasma rotation, which in consequence increases the probability for the appearance of locked modes. To investigate the impact of externally applied MPs on already existing modes and the influence on the rotation profile, experimental observations are compared to modelling results. The model used here solves a coupled equation system that includes the Rutherford equation and the equation of motion, taking into account the resonant effects and the resistive wall. It is shown that the NTV torque can be neglected in this modelling. To match the experimental frequency evolution of the mode the MP field strength at the resonant surface has to be increased compared to the vacuum approximation. This leads to an overestimation of the stabilizing effect on the NTMs. The reconstruction of the entire rotation profile via the equation of motion including radial dependencies, confirms that the NTV is negligibly small and that small resonant torques at different resonant surfaces have the same effect as one large one. This modelling suggests that in the experiment resonant torques at different surfaces are acting and slowing down the plasma rotation requiring a smaller torque at the specific resonant surface of the NTM. This additionally removes the overestimated influence on the island stability, whereas the braking of the island's rotation is caused by the sum of all torques. Consequently, to describe the effect of MPs on the evolution of one island, all other islands and the corresponding torques must also be taken into account.