TY - JOUR
T1 - Bootstrap current modeling in M3D-C1
AU - Saxena, Saurabh
AU - Ferraro, Nathaniel M.
AU - Martin, Mike F.
AU - Wright, Adelle
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Thea Energy, Inc and the Author(s), 2025.
PY - 2025/10/17
Y1 - 2025/10/17
N2 - Bootstrap current plays a crucial role in the equilibrium of magnetically confined plasmas, particularly in quasi-symmetric stellarators and in tokamaks, where it can represent bulk of the electric current density. Accurate modeling of this current is essential for understanding the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equilibrium and stability of these configurations. This study expands the modeling capabilities of M3D-C1, an extended-MHD code, by implementing self-consistent physics models for bootstrap current. It employs two analytical frameworks: A generalized Sauter model (Sauter et al. 1999 Phys. Plasmas vol. 6, no. 7, pp. 2834-2839), and a revised Sauter-like model (Redl et al. 2021 Phys. Plasmas vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 022502). The isomorphism described by Landreman et al. (2022 Phys. Rev. Lett. vol. 128, pp. 035001) is employed to apply these models to quasi-symmetric stellarators. The implementation in M3D-C1 is benchmarked against neoclassical codes, including NEO, XGCa and SFINCS, showing excellent agreement. These improvements allow M3D-C1 to self-consistently calculate the neoclassical contributions to plasma current in axisymmetric and quasi-symmetric configurations, providing a more accurate representation of the plasma behavior in these configurations. A workflow for evaluating the neoclassical transport using SFINCS with arbitrary toroidal equilibria calculated using M3D-C1 is also presented. This workflow enables a quantitative evaluation of the error in the Sauter-like model in cases that deviate from axi-or quasi-symmetry (e.g.Through the development of an MHD instability).
AB - Bootstrap current plays a crucial role in the equilibrium of magnetically confined plasmas, particularly in quasi-symmetric stellarators and in tokamaks, where it can represent bulk of the electric current density. Accurate modeling of this current is essential for understanding the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equilibrium and stability of these configurations. This study expands the modeling capabilities of M3D-C1, an extended-MHD code, by implementing self-consistent physics models for bootstrap current. It employs two analytical frameworks: A generalized Sauter model (Sauter et al. 1999 Phys. Plasmas vol. 6, no. 7, pp. 2834-2839), and a revised Sauter-like model (Redl et al. 2021 Phys. Plasmas vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 022502). The isomorphism described by Landreman et al. (2022 Phys. Rev. Lett. vol. 128, pp. 035001) is employed to apply these models to quasi-symmetric stellarators. The implementation in M3D-C1 is benchmarked against neoclassical codes, including NEO, XGCa and SFINCS, showing excellent agreement. These improvements allow M3D-C1 to self-consistently calculate the neoclassical contributions to plasma current in axisymmetric and quasi-symmetric configurations, providing a more accurate representation of the plasma behavior in these configurations. A workflow for evaluating the neoclassical transport using SFINCS with arbitrary toroidal equilibria calculated using M3D-C1 is also presented. This workflow enables a quantitative evaluation of the error in the Sauter-like model in cases that deviate from axi-or quasi-symmetry (e.g.Through the development of an MHD instability).
KW - fusion plasma
KW - plasma instabilities
KW - plasma simulation
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105019675440
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105019675440#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.1017/S0022377825100834
DO - 10.1017/S0022377825100834
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105019675440
SN - 0022-3778
VL - 91
JO - Journal of Plasma Physics
JF - Journal of Plasma Physics
IS - 5
M1 - E141
ER -