First Observation of Currents Induced by Alfvén Eigenmodes in a Magnetic Confinement Device

W. W. Heidbrink; X. D. Du; M. E. Austin; K. J. Callahan; C. T. Holcomb; J. B. Lestz; L. Liu; G. R. McKee; L. Schmitz; M. A. Van Zeeland; Z. Yan

doi:10.1103/1kzf-4n8n

First Observation of Currents Induced by Alfvén Eigenmodes in a Magnetic Confinement Device

W. W. Heidbrink ^1,*, X. D. Du ², M. E. Austin ³, K. J. Callahan ⁴, C. T. Holcomb ⁵, J. B. Lestz ¹, L. Liu ³, G. R. McKee ⁶, L. Schmitz ⁷ et al.

M. A. Van Zeeland ² and Z. Yan ⁶

¹University of California, Irvine, California 92697, USA
²General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, California 92186-5608, USA
³University of Texas-Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
⁴Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, USA
⁵Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA
⁶University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1687, USA
⁷University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA

^*Contact author: Bill.Heidbrink@uci.edu

PDF

Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 095101 – Published 25 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1kzf-4n8n

Abstract

Instabilities driven by energetic particles normally reduce fusion power, but recent studies find Alfvén eigenmode instabilities can drive “zonal” flows and currents that reduce thermal transport, improving overall performance. Motional Stark effect data from the DIII-D tokamak reveal changes in magnetic pitch angle during the phase when Alfvén-eigenmode nonlinearity drives zonal flows, suppresses microturbulence, and increases the electron and ion temperatures. Measured changes in the safety factor of $Δ q / \bar{q} ≃ 5 %$ occur in roughly 20 ms, consistent with a rough estimate based on the measured zonal flow.

Physical Review Letters

Export citation

Export citation

First Observation of Currents Induced by Alfvén Eigenmodes in a Magnetic Confinement Device

Abstract

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Authorization Required

Other Options

References (Subscription Required)

Outline

Information

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation

First Observation of Currents Induced by Alfvén Eigenmodes in a Magnetic Confinement Device

Abstract

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Authorization Required

Log in via your institution

Log in via APS Member Subscription

Other Options

References (Subscription Required)