Low-frequency zonal flow eigen-structure in tokamak plasmas

Abstract

Abstract The nonlocal eigenmode analysis of low-frequency zonal flows in toroidally rotating tokamak plasmas is performed in the framework of the reduced one-fluid ideal MHD-model. It is shown that for typical profiles of plasma parameters toroidal plasma rotation results in the global zonal flow formation on the periphery of plasma column. For some types of equilibria these zonal flows are aperiodically unstable that leads to the excitation of the differential plasma rotation at the tokamak plasma edge.