Current driven instability in finite beta plasmas

The induced electric field in a tokamak drives a parallel electron current flow. In an inhomogeneous, finite beta plasma, when this electron flow is non-negligible compared to the ion thermal speed, the Alfv\'{e}n mode wave solutions of the electromagnetic gyrokinetic equation can become an almost purely growing kink mode. Using the new ``low-flow'' version of the gyrokinetic code GS2 developed for momentum transport studies [Barnes et al 2013 to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett., arXiv: 1304.3633], we are able to model the effect of the induced parallel electric field on the electron distribution to study the impact of a current on stability. We identify high mode number kink modes in GS2 simulations and make comparisons to analytical theory in a sheared magnetic geometry. We find a reassuring agreement with analytical results both in terms of parametric dependences of mode frequencies and growth rates, and regarding the radial mode structure.