Cross-scale Interaction between Microturbulence and Fishbone in Fusion Plasmas

TL;DR

This study uses global gyrokinetic simulations to explore how fishbone instabilities influence microturbulence in fusion plasmas, revealing that fishbone activity can suppress turbulence and improve thermal confinement.

Contribution

First-time multiscale gyrokinetic simulations demonstrate the impact of fishbone on ITG turbulence and ion transport in tokamak plasmas.

Findings

Fishbone significantly suppresses ITG turbulence.

Turbulence reduction approaches neoclassical levels.

Simulation results align with experimental observations.

Abstract

Global gyrokinetic simulations are performed for the first time to investigate cross-scale interactions between electromagnetic ion temperature gradient (ITG) turbulence and fishbone instability in tokamak plasmas. The investigation of fluctuation response in the multiscale simulation including both instabilities indicates a strong impact of fishbone on ITG turbulence. Detailed analysis reveals that fishbone-driven zonal radial electric fields at nonlinear saturation significantly suppress electromagnetic ITG turbulence, reducing ion thermal transport close to the neoclassical level. The simulation results agree well with experimental observations that turbulence suppression during fishbone bursts. These findings advance understanding of multiscale interactions that enhance thermal confinement in fusion plasmas.