title: Rotation and kinetic modifications of the tokamak ideal-wall pressure limit.
abstract: The impact of toroidal rotation, energetic ions, and drift-kinetic effects on the tokamak ideal wall mode stability limit is considered theoretically and compared to experiment for the first time. It is shown that high toroidal rotation can be an important destabilizing mechanism primarily through the angular velocity shear; non-Maxwellian fast ions can also be destabilizing, and drift-kinetic damping can potentially offset these destabilization mechanisms. These results are obtained using the unique parameter regime accessible in the spherical torus NSTX of high toroidal rotation speed relative to the thermal and Alfvén speeds and high kinetic pressure relative to the magnetic pressure. Inclusion of rotation and kinetic effects significantly improves agreement between measured and predicted ideal stability characteristics and may provide new insight into tearing mode triggering.
authors.affiliation: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Menard
authors.affiliation: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA.
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.affiliation: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kaye
authors.affiliation: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA.
authors.forename: J-K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tritz