Nonlinear response of a neoclassical four-field magnetic reconnection model to localized current drive

In tokamaks magnetic islands arise from an unstable process of tearing and reconnecting of helical field lines across rational surfaces. After a linear stage the magnetic instability develops through three characteristic nonlinear stages where increasingly complex topological alterations occur in the form of the magnetic islands. The problem of response of reconnection process to the injection of an external current suitably localized is addressed using a four-field model in a plane slab plasma, with a novel extension to account consistently of the relevant neoclassical effects, such as bootstrap current and pressure anisotropy. The results found have implications on the interpretation of the possible mechanism of present day experimental results on neoclassical tearing modes as well as on the concepts for their control or avoidance. [doi: 10.1063/1.3428676]