Complete macroscopic stabilization of tokamak plasmas

A numerical investigation of ideal magnetohydrodynamic stability in finite aspect ratio tokamaks with zero edge current density is carried out. It is shown that, assuming a conventionally D-shaped cross section and a safety factor on axis greater than 2.1, both n=∞ and n=1 modes are stable for any beta, even in the absence of any surrounding conductors. (orig.)