The effect of a radial electric field on the neoclassical tearing mode driven losses of energetic trapped ions

Abstract A rotating neoclassical tearing mode (NTM) can increase the trapped ion losses when the frequency of the NTM is close to the precessional frequency of the trapped particles. When an equilibrium electric field, produced by the rotation of the plasma and the density gradient, is present, the average precessional frequency of the trapped ions changes and so does the mode frequency corresponding to the maximum loss rate. Our results show that when an electric field with a value of 11.2 kV/m at is included the maximum of the trapped ion losses increases from 27 to 30 based on EAST equilibrium.