Evolution of magnetic islands in tokamaks

The evolution of magnetic islands is studied by a variational method on the assumption that it consists of a sequence of equilibria. The characteristic time of the evolution is then a resistive time. The sequence may, however, reach a configuration where the angle of the flux lines at the X-point vanishes. This behaviour is plausible in the case of q=1 islands, in contrast to the case of q>1. The subsequent evolution must assign a certain role to inertia. It is shown that this role cannot consist of a rapid displacement of the separatrix preserving its topology, but must be due to the onset of small-grain kinetic and magnetic turbulence extending from the separatrix in a large domain. (author)