Control of tearing mode instabilities by localized electron-cyclotron wave heating

Abstract
Resistive tearing mode instabilities are driven by unfavorable current gradients at the position where the safety factor q is rational. Their dynamics in the presence of radio‐frequency (rf) power absorption in the electron‐cyclotron wavelength range is investigated by means of a hybrid transport‐magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code and analytic considerations. A panorama of possibilities of stabilization and control of disruptions in tokamaks is presented.