Nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic simulation of Tore Supra hollow current profile discharges

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity often undermines the realization of fully noninductive plasma discharges in the Tore Supra tokamak [J. Jacquinot, Nucl. Fusion 45, S118 (2005)], by producing large degradation of electron energy confinement in the plasma core and the bifurcation to a regime with permanent MHD activity. The nonlinear evolution of MHD modes in these hollow current density profile discharges is studied with the full-scale three-dimensional MHD code XTOR [K. Lerbinger and J.-F. Luciani, J. Comput. Phys. 97, 444 (1991)] and compared with experimental features. Large confinement degradation is predicted when q (0) is close to 2. This derives either from the full reconnection of an unstable double-tearing mode, or from the coupling between a single tearing mode and adjacent stable modes in a region with reduced magnetic shear.