Experimental-like helical self-organization in reversed-field pinch modeling.

We report the first nonlinear three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulations of the reversed-field pinch (RFP) that exhibit a systematic repetition of quasisingle helicity states with the same dominant mode in between reconnection events. This distinctive feature of experimental self-organized helical RFP plasmas is reproduced in MHD simulations at low dissipation by allowing a helical modulation of the plasma magnetic boundary similar to the experimental one. Realistic mode amplitudes and magnetic topology are also found.

Vanishing magnetic shear and electron transport barriers in the RFX-mod reversed field pinch.

We define the safety factor q for the helical plasmas of the experiment RFX-mod by accounting for the actual three-dimensional nature of the magnetic flux surfaces. Such a profile is not monotonic but goes through a maximum located in the vicinity of the electron transport barriers measured by a high resolution Thomson scattering diagnostic. Helical states with a single axis obtained in viscoresistive magnetohydrodynamic numerical simulations exhibit similar nonmonotonic q profiles provided that the final states are preceded by a magnetic island phase, like in the experiment.

Microtearing modes in reversed field pinch plasmas.

In the reversed field pinch RFX-mod strong electron temperature gradients develop when the single-helical-axis regime is achieved. Gyrokinetic calculations show that in the region of the strong temperature gradients microtearing instabilities are the dominant turbulent mechanism acting on the ion Larmor radius scale. The quasilinear evaluation of the electron thermal conductivity is in good agreement with the experimental estimates.

Dominant electrostatic nature of the reversed field pinch dynamo.

The origin of the dynamo velocity field of the reversed field pinch within the visco-resistive MHD modeling is uncovered. The main component of this field is an electrostatic drift. The corresponding electrostatic field is related to a small charge separation which is consistent with the quasineutrality approximation, and which should be present in real plasmas, too. While quite natural in the stationary single helicity state, this analysis is shown to extend also to the nonstationary multiple helicity regime. Numerical simulations provide the spatial distribution of fields and of charge separation.