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Jian Bao

Publications and source records attributed to Jian Bao.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

Minute-Scale High-Fidelity Gyrokinetic Simulations with Portability from Laptop to Supercomputer

Global gyrokinetic particle simulations remain computationally expensive, as they demand both adequate marker statistics and three-dimensional field solvers. In this work, we present a hybrid spectral method within the particle-in-Fourier (PIF) framework and implement it in the electrostatic model of GTC. Charge scatter and field gather are performed between particles and fields on a two-dimensional poloidal mesh, while the corresponding Poisson solver is discretized using radial finite differences and poloidal $m$-harmonics. Truncated spectral transforms are employed to connect multiple representations for fields, avoiding costly particle-grid operations for each individual $m$-harmonic within the particle loop. Benchmarks against conventional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations successfully reproduce single-$n$ ion temperature gradient (ITG) mode structures and dispersion relations, as well as multi-$n$ nonlinear ITG transport and its regulation by zonal flows. Compared to conventional PIC, the proposed method reduces the effective problem size by more than a factor of 48 and achieves a speedup of over two orders of magnitude for single-$n$ cases. A 2000-step single-$n$ simulation with approximately 2 million markers completes in 78.2 seconds on a laptop GPU, while multi-$n$ turbulence simulation also completes within minutes. Furthermore, the elimination of toroidal particle-shift communication yields promising preliminary scaling performance on multiple NVIDIA A100 GPUs. The numerical scheme is broadly applicable for accelerating particle simulations on platforms ranging from laptops to supercomputers.

physics.plasm-ph

Sub-Second Collisionless Gyrokinetic Eigenvalue Solutions via Orbit-Invariant Decomposition

Fast analysis of microscopic drift-wave instabilities based on linear gyrokinetic simulations is desirable for modeling anomalous transport in fusion devices. In this work, we present an orbit-invariant decomposition method for solving collisionless gyrokinetic eigenvalue problems. By discretizing velocity space along orbit invariants using particle energy and magnetic moment, the full eigenvalue matrix is separated into independent orbit blocks that couple with each other through the field equation, greatly reducing both matrix dimension and computational cost without sacrificing physics. Based on this method, we extend the MGK code [Phys.\ Plasmas 24, 072106 (2017)] with both CPU and GPU implementations, supporting collisionless electrostatic and electromagnetic linear simulations in $s$--$\alpha$ and Miller equilibrium models. For kinetic ion temperature gradient (ITG) and trapped electron mode (TEM) eigenvalue problems, the solver reduces single-solution times to the 0.01--0.1~s range---more than three orders of magnitude faster than CGYRO on the same hardware---enabling efficient large-scale parameter scans. For fully electromagnetic KBM cases, it also achieves a speedup of three orders of magnitude over CGYRO and HD7. The eigenfrequencies and mode structures are verified by comparing with CGYRO results. The method is generally applicable to all collisionless gyrokinetic eigenvalue formulations and has been extended to fully electromagnetic simulations. [Python code available at: https://github.com/FusionAlpha/mgk]

physics.plasm-ph

VSC: A Zero-Dimensional Fusion Design Platform for Multiple Magnetic Configurations

The VeloAlpha System Code (VSC) is a computational framework for zero-dimensional fusion power-balance studies across five magnetic-confinement configurations: tokamaks, magnetic mirrors, field-reversed configurations (FRCs), dipoles, and stellarators. A common power-balance formulation connects fusion production, charged-particle deposition, radiation, transport loss, external heating, and fusion gain, while each configuration retains its own geometry, profile weights, confinement model, and operating constraints. The same solver interface supports both single-point calculations and two-dimensional plasma operating contour (POPCON) scans, producing fusion and heating powers, gain, radiation and transport losses, geometry quantities, and configuration-specific validity indicators. VSC therefore makes it possible to study how assumptions about density, temperature, magnetic field, confinement, and geometry shape the accessible operating space of different fusion concepts within one traceable framework. By combining reduced-order physics models with a unified computational platform, VSC enables rapid assessment and comparative analysis of candidate fusion reactor concepts during the early design stage.

physics.plasm-ph

Formulation and verification of multiscale gyrokinetic simulation of kinetic-MHD processes in toroidal plasmas

A comprehensive gyrokinetic simulation model has been implemented in the global toroidal gyrokinetic code (GTC) and verified for studying low-frequency waves and turbulence in magnetic fusion plasmas by treating all kinetic-MHD processes on an equal footing. A theoretical framework has been formulated to unify various methods for efficiently solving the electron drift kinetic equation in multiscale simulations by separating electron responses into analytic and non-analytic parts based on the smallness parameter of electron-to-ion mass ratio. The model can be reduced to the ideal MHD model with both the linear dispersion relation and the nonlinear ponderomotive force in theory and simulation. The model is used for the verification and validation of simulating internal kink modes in the DIII-D tokamak with accurate calculations of equilibrium parallel current and compressible magnetic perturbation. A large simulation database has been generated to train a surrogate model to predict the kink instability. Statistical analysis shows that the radial location of safety factor q=1 flux-surface and the plasma beta inside the q=1 surface are the most important parameters for predicting the kink instability.

physics.plasm-ph

Electromagnetic turbulence in EAST plasmas with internal transport barrier

In this study, global nonlinear electromagnetic gyrokinetic simulations are conducted to investigate turbulence in the Internal transport barrier (ITB) region of the EAST tokamak discharge with weakly reversed magnetic shear. Linear simulations reveal two dominant ion temperature gradient (ITG) modes: a higher frequency mode at the $q=1$ surface, which dominates in the electrostatic limit, and a lower frequency mode near the $q_{\min}$ surface, which prevails under the experimental $\beta$ (the ratio of plasma pressure to magnetic pressure). Finite $\beta$ effects effectively suppress higher frequency ITG modes, and once $\beta_i$ on axis exceeds 0.5\%, this ITG mode is no longer dominant, and the ITG mode near $q_{\min}$ surface becomes the primary instability. Therefore, electromagnetic effects play a crucial role in stabilizing ITG modes, and in causing the transition between the most unstable mode at different radial positions. The linear growth rate of the unstable mode in the electrostatic limit is approximately 1.25 times higher than that of the dominant mode in the electromagnetic case. However, in the electromagnetic nonlinear regime, the thermal ion heat conductivity is reduced by at least a factor of 4. This reduction primarily results from nonlinear electromagnetic effects enhancing the shearing effect of zonal flows, thereby further suppressing microturbulence. Finally, energetic particles exert a slight stabilizing effect on ITG turbulence due to dilution and finite $\beta$ contributions. It is emphasized that the electromagnetic effect on ITG with weak magnetic shear should be included to accurately calculate the transport coefficients.

physics.plasm-ph

Cross-scale Interaction between Microturbulence and Fishbone in Fusion Plasmas

Global gyrokinetic simulations are performed for the first time to investigate cross-scale interactions between electromagnetic ion temperature gradient (ITG) turbulence and fishbone instability in tokamak plasmas. The investigation of fluctuation response in the multiscale simulation including both instabilities indicates a strong impact of fishbone on ITG turbulence. Detailed analysis reveals that fishbone-driven zonal radial electric fields at nonlinear saturation significantly suppress electromagnetic ITG turbulence, reducing ion thermal transport close to the neoclassical level. The simulation results agree well with experimental observations that turbulence suppression during fishbone bursts. These findings advance understanding of multiscale interactions that enhance thermal confinement in fusion plasmas.

physics.plasm-ph

Global simulations of kinetic-magnetohydrodynamic processes with energetic electrons in tokamak plasmas

The energetic electrons (EEs) generated through auxiliary heating have been found to destabilize various Alfven eigenmodes (AEs) in recent experiments, which in turn lead to the EE transport and degrade the plasma energy confinement. In this work, we propose a global fluid-kinetic hybrid model for studying corresponding kinetic-magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) processes by coupling the drift-kinetic EEs to the Landau-fluid model of bulk plasmas in a non-perturbative manner. The numerical capability of Landau-fluid bulk plasmas is obtained based on a well-benchmarked eigenvalue code MAS [Multiscale Analysis of plasma Stabilities, J. Bao et al. Nucl. Fusion accepted 2023], and the EE responses to the electromagnetic fluctuations are analytically derived, which not only contribute to the MHD interchange drive and parallel current but also lead to the newly kinetic particle compression with the precessional drift resonance in the leading order. The hybrid model is casted into a nonlinear eigenvalue matrix equation and solved iteratively using Newton's method. By calibrating the EE precession frequency against the particle equation of motion in general geometry and applying more realistic trapped particle distribution in the poloidal plane, MAS simulations of EE-driven beta-induced Alfven eigenmodes (e-BAE) show excellent agreements with gyrokinetic particle-in-cell simulations, and the non-perturbative effects of EEs on e-BAE mode structure, growth rate and damping rate are demonstrated. With these efforts, the upgraded MAS greatly improves the computation efficiency for plasma problems related to deeply-trapped EEs, which is superior than initial-value simulations restricted by the stringent electron Courant condition regarding to the practical application of fast linear analysis.

physics.plasm-ph

MAS: A versatile Landau-fluid eigenvalue code for plasma stability analysis in general geometry

We have developed a new global eigenvalue code, Multiscale Analysis for plasma Stabilities (MAS), for studying plasma problems with wave toroidal mode number n and frequency omega in a broad range of interest in general tokamak geometry, based on a five-field Landau-fluid description of thermal plasmas. Beyond keeping the necessary plasma fluid response, we further retain the important kinetic effects including diamagnetic drift, ion finite Larmor radius, finite parallel electric field, ion and electron Landau resonances in a self-consistent and non-perturbative manner without sacrificing the attractive efficiency in computation. The physical capabilities of the code are evaluated and examined in the aspects of both theory and simulation. In theory, the comprehensive Landau-fluid model implemented in MAS can be reduced to the well-known ideal MHD model, electrostatic ion-fluid model, and drift-kinetic model in various limits, which clearly delineates the physics validity regime. In simulation, MAS has been well benchmarked with theory and other gyrokinetic and kinetic-MHD hybrid codes in a manner of adopting the unified physical and numerical framework, which covers the kinetic Alfven wave, ion sound wave, low-n kink, high-n ion temperature gradient mode and kinetic ballooning mode. Moreover, MAS is successfully applied to model the Alfven eigenmode (AE) activities in DIII-D discharge #159243, which faithfully captures the frequency sweeping of RSAE, the tunneling damping of TAE, as well as the polarization characteristics of KBAE and BAAE being consistent with former gyrokinetic theory and simulation. With respect to the key progress contributed to the community, MAS has the advantage of combining rich physics ingredients, realistic global geometry and high computation efficiency together for plasma stability analysis in linear regime.

physics.plasm-ph

Thermal ion kinetic effects and Landau damping in fishbone modes

The kinetic-MHD hybrid simulation approach for macroscopic instabilities in plasmas can be extended to include the kinetic effects of both thermal ions and energetic ions. The new coupling scheme includes synchronization of density and parallel velocity between thermal ions and MHD, in addition to pressure coupling, to ensure the quasineutrality condition and avoid numerical errors. The new approach has been implemented in the kinetic-MHD code M3D-C1-K, and was used to study the thermal ion kinetic effects and Landau damping in fishbone modes in both DIII-D and NSTX. It is found that the thermal ion kinetic effects can cause an increase of the frequencies of the non-resonant $n=1$ fishbone modes driven by energetic particles for $q_\mathrm{min}>1$, and Landau damping can provide additional stabilization effects. A nonlinear simulation for $n=1$ fishbone mode in NSTX is also performed, and the perturbation on magnetic flux surfaces and the transport of energetic particles are calculated.

physics.plasm-ph

A New Paradigm for Fast and Repetitive Chirping of Alfvén Eigenmodes

A novel 2D nonlinear dynamical paradigm is constructed to interpret the fast and repetitive frequency chirping and amplitude oscillation of Alfvén eigenmodes excited by energetic particles in fusion plasmas as observed in global gyrokinetic simulations. In this non-perturbative paradigm of the collisionless phase-space dynamics, wave-particle resonant interactions cause the phase-space structure to continuously twist and fold, leading to the repetitive excitation and decay of the Alfvén eigenmode. The radial (perpendicular to the dominant wave-particle interaction) dependence of the mode amplitude and toroidal precessional drifts of the energetic particles leads to the 2D dynamics of wave-particle interactions, which is found to be responsible for the repetitive process of formation and destruction of the mode structure.

physics.plasm-ph

Deep learning based surrogate model for first-principles global simulations of fusion plasmas

The accurate identification and control of plasma instabilities is important for successful fusion experiments. First-principles simulations which can provide physics based instability information including the growth rate and mode structure are generally not fast enough for real-time applications. In this work, a deep-learning based surrogate model as an instability simulator has been developed and trained in a supervised manner with data from the gyrokinetic toroidal code (GTC) global electromagnetic simulations of the current driven kink instabilities in DIII-D plasmas. The inference time of the surrogate model of GTC (SGTC) is on the order of milliseconds, which fits the requirement of the DIII-D real-time plasma control system (PCS). SGTC demonstrates strong predictive capabilities for the kink mode instability properties including the growth rate and mode structure.

physics.plasm-ph

Nonlinear Saturation of Kinetic Ballooning Modes by Zonal fields in Toroidal Plasmas

Kinetic ballooning modes (KBM) are widely believed to play a critical role in disruptive dynamics as well as turbulent transport in tokamaks. While the nonlinear evolution of ballooning modes has been proposed as a mechanism for detonation in tokamak plasmas, the role of kinetic effects in such nonlinear dynamics remains largely unexplored. In this work global gyrokinetic simulation results of KBM nonlinear behavior are presented. Instead of the finite-time singularity predicted by ideal MHD theory, the kinetic instability is shown to develop into an intermediate nonlinear regime of exponential growth, followed by a nonlinear saturation regulated by spontaneously generated zonal fields. In the intermediate nonlinear regime, rapid growth of localized current sheet is observed.

physics.plasm-ph

Linear simulation of ion temperature gradient driven instabilities in W7-X and LHD stellarators using GTC

The global gyrokinetic toroidal code (GTC) has been recently upgraded to do simulations in non-axisymmetric equilibrium configuration, such as stellarators. Linear simulation of ion temperature gradient (ITG) driven instabilities has been done in Wendelstein7-X (W7-X) and Large Helical Device (LHD) stellarators using GTC. Several results are discussed to study characteristics of ITG in stellarators, including toroidal grids convergence, nmodes number convergence, poloidal and parallel spectrums, and electrostatic potential mode structure on flux surface.

physics.plasm-ph