Postdoctoral Position in Kinetic-Particle-Driven or -Modified Instabilities in Tokamak Plasmas (M/F)

About this position

We invite applications for a postdoctoral position in computational plasma physics, focusing on the nonlinear dynamics of macroscopic instabilities driven or modified by kinetic effects in tokamak plasmas.

The successful candidate will use and further develop XTOR-K, a hybrid fluid/kinetic code that self-consistently couples, in realistic tokamak geometry, either a single-fluid MHD or a two-fluid model for the bulk plasma with a kinetic description of selected ion populations using the particle-in-cell (PIC) method. The code will be used to investigate kinetic effects on the nonlinear dynamics of fluid instabilities and of instabilities driven or modified by kineatic ions in a magnetically confined fusion plasmas.

The research will focus on the following topics:

• Kinetic-particle effects on MHD instabilities : Long-time nonlinear simulations of internal kink and/or tearing modes in the presence of kineatic ions, such as fusion-born alpha particles, fast ions produced by external heating sources, or thermal ions.
• Kinetic-particle-driven Alfvén eigenmodes : Investigation of the excitation, nonlinear evolution, saturation, and interactions between different families of Alfvén eigenmodes destabilized by kinetic ion populations.

The project offers the opportunity to contribute to state-of-the-art numerical modeling for magnetic fusion research, combining advanced plasma physics, computational model development, and high-performance computing (HPC).

The position is based in the plasma theory group at CPHT. The research will also involve collaboration with national and European laboratories, providing opportunities for scientific exchange and collaborative research within the European fusion community.