Resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations of helicity-injected startup plasmas in National Spherical Torus eXperiment

The generation of helicity-injected startup plasmas in National Spherical Torus eXperiment (NSTX), including flux surface closure, is studied using resistive-magnetohydrodynamic simulations with plasma flows, currents, ohmic heating and anisotropic thermal conduction. An injection-voltage pulse shape is used that separates the injection and closure phases allowing elucidation of the physics. The formation of an X-point near the helicity-injection gap is triggered as the injector voltage drops to zero. Near the forming X-point, magnetic pressure due to toroidal field entrained in the E × B plasma flow from the helicity-injection gap drops, allowing resistive magnetic reconnection even though the total injected current is almost constant. Where appropriate, the simulations are compared with Transient Coaxial Helicity Injection experiments in the NSTX spherical tokamak, which have demonstrated the formation of a promising candidate for non-inductive startup plasmas [Raman, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 075005 (2003)].