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Updated: May 16, 2026

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
Global gyrokinetic simulation of Tokamak edge pedestal instabilities
Weigang Wan1, Scott E Parker, Yang Chen
1Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
Abstract:
Global electromagnetic gyrokinetic simulations show the existence of near threshold conditions for both a high-n kinetic ballooning mode (KBM) and an intermediate-n kinetic version of peeling-ballooning mode (KPBM) in the edge pedestal of two DIII-D H-mode discharges. When the magnetic shear is reduced in a narrow region of steep pressure gradient, the KPBM is significantly stabilized, while the KBM is weakly destabilized and hence becomes the most-unstable mode. Collisions decrease the KBM's critical β and increase the growth rate.
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