Effect of magnetic reconnection on CT penetration into magnetized plasmas

To understand the fuelling process in a fusion device by a compact toroid (CT) injection method, three dimensional MHD numerical simulations, where a spheromak-like CT (SCT) is injected into magnetized target plasmas, has been carried out. It has been found that the SCT penetration into magnetized target plasmas is accompanied by complex physical dynamics, which is not simply described by the conventional simple theoretical model. One of the most remarkable phenomena is magnetic reconnection. Magnetic reconnection plays a role in supplying the high density plasma, initially confined in the SCT magnetic field, to the target region. Furthermore, it is suggested that magnetic reconnection relaxes the deceleration of the SCT.