Nonlinear dynamics of turbulence driven magnetic islands. II. Numerical simulations

Abstract

The nonlinear dynamics of a turbulence driven magnetic island (TDMI) is investigated numerically in a reduced magnetohydrodynamic fluid model. The significance of identifying a characteristic signature of a TDMI for its experimental observation is discussed. The principal focus of our simulations is on the nature of the pressure profile flattening inside a TDMI, and we show that, in agreement with analytical predictions, a partial flattening occurs when the island size exceeds a critical value that is a function of the small scale interchange dynamics. We also present a model and test it numerically, which links explicitly the interchange turbulence and the island pressure flattening.