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research article

Sawtooth crash in tokamak as a sequence of multi-region relaxed MHD equilibria

Qu, Z.
•
Zhou, Y.
•
Kumar, A.
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May 13, 2025
Physics of Plasmas

This study examines the sawtooth crash phenomenon in tokamak plasmas by modeling it as a sequence of multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamic (MRxMHD) equilibria. Using the stepped-pressure equilibrium code, we constructed a series of equilibria representing intermediate states during the sawtooth crash, with progressively increasing reconnection regions. Numerical results demonstrated that the system prefers the lower energy non-axisymmetric equilibria with islands and is eventually back to an axisymmetric state, capturing key features of the reconnection process. Comparisons with the nonlinear MHD code M3D-C1 showed remarkable agreement on the field-line topology, the safety factor, and the current profile. However, the simplified MRxMHD model does not resolve the detailed structure of the current sheet. Despite this limitation, MRxMHD offers an insightful approach and a complementary perspective to initial-value MHD simulations.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1063/5.0260347
Author(s)
Qu, Z.

Nanyang Technological University

Zhou, Y.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Kumar, A.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Doak, J.

Australian National University

Loizu, J.  

EPFL

Hole, M.

Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation

Date Issued

2025-05-13

Published in
Physics of Plasmas
Volume

32

Issue

5

Article Number

052503

Start page

1

End page

13

Subjects

Computational physics

•

Nuclear fusion

•

Theoretical plasma physics

•

Magnetohydrodynamics

•

Tokamaks

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
SPC-TH  
FunderFunding(s)Grant NumberGrant URL

EUROfusion

Euratom Research and Training Programme

101052200

Available on Infoscience
May 13, 2025
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/250133
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