Effect of Magnetic Islands on Neoclassical Heat Diffusivity in a Global Tokamak Simulation

Resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) alter magnetic field topology via island formation and can modify core transport in toroidal fusion devices. Using the global gyrokinetic particle-in-cell code XGC-S, originally developed for stellarator geometries, we quantify how island topology affects neoclassical heat transport in a circular tokamak with (Formula presented.) RMP-induced islands. Electron radial heat diffusivity exhibits a two-peak structure with a dominant enhancement near the O/X-point region and a secondary peak at the outer island boundary, whereas ion transport remains close to the neoclassical prediction. The observed electron diffusivity is strongly enhanced over the neoclassical baseline but remains well below the Rechester–Rosenbluth estimate, consistent with the non-ergodic character of the island topology. The density dependence of diffusivity is weaker inside the islands than outside, indicating the presence of topology-driven transport channels that do not depend strongly on collisionality. Two-dimensional heat flux maps reveal an up–down antisymmetric structure at the island separatrices consistent with magnetic gradient and curvature drift effects, in contrast to the symmetric temperature flattening inside the islands. These results identify topology-dependent avenues for electron heat transport in RMP-perturbed cores and suggest regimes in which island geometry, rather than collisions alone, governs radial transport.