Optimization of applied non-axisymmetric magnetic perturbations using multimodal plasma response on DIII-D

The plasma response to proposed 3D coil geometries in the DIII-D tokamak is investigated using the linear MHD plasma response code MARS-F. An extensive examination of low- and high-field side coil arrangements shows the potential to optimize the coupling between imposed non-axisymmetric magnetic perturbations and the total plasma response by varying the toroidal and poloidal spectral content of the applied field. Previous work has shown that $n$=2 and $n$=3 perturbations can suppress edge-localized modes (ELMs) in cases where the applied field’s coupling to resonant surfaces is enhanced by amplifying marginally-stable kink modes. This research is extended to higher n-number configurations of 2 to 3 rows with up to 12 coils each in order to advance the physical understanding and optimization of both the resonant and non-resonant responses. Both in- and ex-vessel configurations are considered. The plasma braking torque is also analyzed, and coil geometries with favorable plasma coupling characteristics are discussed.