Abstract
The local measurement of the island width , around the resonant surface, allowed a direct test of the extended Rutherford model [P. H. Rutherford, PPPL Report-2277 (1985)], describing the evolution of radiation-induced tearing modes prior to disruptions of tokamak plasmas. It is found that this model accounts very well for the observed exponential growth and supports radiation losses as being the main driving mechanism. The model implies that the effective perpendicular electron heat conductivity in the island is smaller than the global one. Comparison of the local measurements of with the magnetic perturbed field showed that was valid for widths up to of the minor radius.
- Received 14 March 2001
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.075002
©2002 American Physical Society