Ruirui Ma, Pengfei Liu, Liu Chen, Fulvio Zonca, Zhiyong Qiu
Understanding nonlinear saturation of reversed-shear Alfvén eigenmodes (RSAEs) in tokamaks is crucial for high-performance burning plasmas. Employing both nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations and theoretical analyses, we have discovered the novel result that, with energetic particle dynamics kept linear, the nonlinear suppression and eventual saturation of RSAE occur via the downward frequency chirping induced by the beat-driven zonal current. More specifically, as the mode frequency chirps downward, there is enhanced mode conversion to radially propagating electron Landau-damped kinetic Alfvén waves; resulting in enhanced convective (radiative) damping and, thereby, its suppression and saturation. Theoretical results are in good agreement with simulations both qualitatively and quantitatively. This Letter, thus, establishes a fundamental framework for zonal-current mediated saturation of Alfvén eigenmodes in burning plasmas.