Physics issues of a tokamak plasma with a hollow current profile produced by a large bootstrap current are discussed based on experiments in JT-60U. An internal transport barrier for both ions and electrons was obtained just inside the radius of zero magnetic shear in JT-60U. Analysis of the toroidal ITG microinstability by toroidal particle simulation shows that weak and negative shear reduces the toroidal coupling and suppresses the ITG mode. A hard beta limit was observed in JT-60U negative shear experiments. Ideal MHD mode analysis shows that the n = 1 pressure-driven kink mode is a plausible candidate. One of the methods to improve the beta limit against the kink mode is to widen the negative shear region, which can induce a broader pressure profile resulting in a higher beta limit. The TAE mode for the hollow current profile is less unstable than that for the monotonic current profile. The reason is that the continuum gaps near the zero shear region are not aligned when the radius of qmin is close to the region of high . Finally, a method for stable start-up for a plasma with a hollow current profile is described, and stable sustainment of a steady-state plasma with high bootstrap current is discussed.
Core transport properties in JT-60U and JET identity plasmas