Effect of Externally Driven Magnetic Islands on Resistive Ballooning Turbulence

Turbulent transport in the edge region of tokamak plasmas is simulated using a reduced set of magnetohydrodynamic equations. Repetitive and intermittent transport bursts driven by resistive ballooning turbulence with external heating are observed. The effect of a resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) on turbulent heat transport is examined, where the electromagnetic response of the plasma to the RMP is solved consistently. The penetration of the RMP excites a magnetic island chain and damps the poloidal flow near the magnetic islands. The transport bursts are found to be replaced by more moderate and continuous transport. The change in the transport pattern is associated with the effect of the RMP on nonlinear coupling of fluctuations