Effects of plasma turbulence on the nonlinear evolution of magnetic island in tokamak

Magnetic islands (MIs), resulting from a magnetic field reconnection, are ubiquitous structures in magnetized plasmas. In tokamak plasmas, recent researches suggested that the interaction between an MI and ambient turbulence can be important for the nonlinear MI evolution, but a lack of detailed experimental observations and analyses has prevented further understanding. Here, we provide comprehensive observations such as turbulence spreading into an MI and turbulence enhancement at the reconnection site, elucidating intricate effects of plasma turbulence on the nonlinear MI evolution

Thomson scattering near the high-fluence target surface of the Magnum-PSI linear plasma generator

In the quest to long-term operation of high-power magnetically confined fusion devices, it is crucial to control the particle and heat loads on the wall. In order to predict these loads, understanding of the plasma-wall interaction is important. Near the wall surface, the plasma is accelerated towards the Debye sheath edge. In plasma conditions with high density and low temperature, the interaction between the incoming plasma and recycled neutrals can become important. In this paper, we present incoherent Thomson Scattering (TS) measurements in the near-surface region of the Magnum-PSI linear plasma generator. To enable TS measurements close to the plasma target of Magnum-PSI, a stray light suppression up to a factor 104 was achieved, while retaining high transmission. By incrementally moving the target along the magnetic field, this adapted system was used down to 1.9 mm from the target. In the last 10–15 mm in front of the surface, the electron density as well as temperature were observed to decrease significantly. Under the assumption of constant particle flux in this region, the density drop indicates plasma acceleration. In that case, the measurements can be interpreted to show the plasma presheath, and its lengthscale: ~ 1 cm. The electron cooling indicates an energy loss channel for the electrons near the wall. A reduced electron temperature near the sheath entrance leads to lower estimates of particle and energy flux, as well a

Velocimetry analysis of type-I edgelocalized mode precursors in ASDEXUpgrade

When the electron transport barrier remains in its final shape before a type-I edge localized mode (ELM) crash in ASDEX Upgrade, ELM precursors appear as electron temperature fluctuations. In order to relate these precursors to an instability, spatial scales, parity and the cross-phase between electron temperature and radial velocity fluctuations are evaluated by means of velocimetry of measured 2D electron temperature fluctuations. A comprehensive comparison with properties of different instabilities points to microtearing modes. Bispectral analysis indicates a nonlinear coupling of these precursors to a ballooning-type mode prior to the ELM onset

COMPARISON STUDY OF 2D IMAGES OF TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS DURING SAWTOOTH OSCILLATION WITH THEORETICAL MODELS

High temporal and spatial resolution two-dimensional (2D) images of electron temperature fluctuations were employed to study the sawtooth oscillation in the Toroidal Experiment for Technically Oriented Research tokamak plasmas. The 2D images are directly compared with the expected 2D patterns of the plasma pressure (or electron temperature) from various theoretical models. The observed experimental 2D images are only partially in agreement with the expected patterns from each model: The image of the initial reconnection process is similar to that of the ballooning mode model. The intermediate and final stages of the reconnection process resemble those of the full reconnection model. The time evolution of the images of the hot spot or island is partially consistent to those from the full reconnection model but is not consistent with those from the quasi-interchange model.open1159Nsciescopu

Numerical modelling of detached plasma experiments with differential pumping in Magnum-PSI

Sufficient decrease of plasma pressure, ion and heat flux along the scrape-off layer of a tokamak fusion reactor are imperative to ensure the survival of the divertor tiles. This specific condition, defined as detachment, occurs within low temperature, high density, highly recycling\u3cbr/\u3eplasma that can also be realized in linear plasma devices such as Magnum-PSI [1]. In MagnumPSI, high recycling is achieved by utilizing differential pumping across three vacuum chambers. Experiments have been conducted to mimic detachment in the Magnum-PSI linear device by\u3cbr/\u3evarying the neutral background pressure at the chamber of the recycling target via H2 gas puffing [2], while the hydrogen plasma source parameters are kept constant across the experiments. Numerical modelling is carried out to help gain further insights regarding the physics behind detachment. The experiments are benchmarked with a coupled fluid-kinetic approach using the B2.5- EUNOMIA code package [3]. EUNOMIA is a Monte Carlo neutral simulation optimized for linear\u3cbr/\u3egeometry. Thomson scattering measurements without gas puffing are used as a plasma boundary condition at the source in the simulation, and the gas pressure in the target chamber will be varied. The resulting electron density and temperature simulated profiles near the target are\u3cbr/\u3ecompared with profiles measured in experiments. This paper presents the result of the benchmark tests, and identifies the collisional processes and other physical effects relevant to the detached plasma stat

Fast Ion Induced Shearing of 2D Alfven Eigenmodes Measured by Electron Cyclotron Emission Imaging

Two-dimensional images of electron temperature perturbations are obtained with electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) on the DIII-D tokamak and compared to Alfven eigenmode structures obtained by numerical modeling using both ideal MHD and hybrid MHD-gyrofluid codes. While many features of the observations are found to be in excellent agreement with simulations using an ideal MHD code (NOVA), other characteristics distinctly reveal the influence of fast ions on the mode structures. These features are found to be well described by the nonperturbative hybrid MHD-gyrofluid model TAEFL.open1160sciescopu

Sawtooth Precursor Oscillations on DIII-D

The sawtooth oscillation, observed in tokamak plasmas with a central safety factor of less than unity, is a periodic disruptive instability characterized by a slow ramping of central plasma density and temperature, followed by a fast relaxation resulting in flattening of both profiles. Elongated neutral-beam-heated discharges on the DIII-D tokamak exhibit multiple precursor oscillations with mode number m/n = 1/1. The dominant m/n = 1/1 mode oscillates at the plasma rotation frequency. A downshifted mode also appears early in the sawtooth ramp. A normalization of electron cyclotron emission imaging data that removes the contribution of slow electron temperature profile evolution reveals that both modes are consistent with an underlying quasi-interchange plasma displacement.X1132sciescopu

Sawtooth precursor oscillations on DIII-D

The sawtooth oscillation, observed in tokamak plasmas with a central safety factor of less than unity, is a periodic disruptive instability characterized by a slow ramping of central plasma density and temperature, followed by a fast relaxation resulting in flattening of both profiles. Elongated neutral-beamheated discharges on the DIII-D tokamak exhibit multiple precursor oscillations with mode number m/n = 1/1. The dominant m/n = 1/1 mode oscillates at the plasma rotation frequency. A downshifted mode also appears early in the sawtooth ramp. A normalization of electron cyclotron emission imaging data that removes the contribution of slow electron temperature profile evolution reveals that both modes are consistent with an underlying quasi-interchange plasma displacement

OBSERVATION OF HIGH-FIELD-SIDE CRASH AND HEAT TRANSFER DURING SAWTOOTH OSCILLATION IN MAGNETICALLY CONFINED PLASMAS

High resolution (temporal and spatial), two-dimensional images of electron temperature fluctuations during sawtooth oscillations were employed to study the crash process and heat transfer in magnetically confined toroidal plasmas. The combination of kink and local pressure driven instabilities leads to a small poloidally localized puncture in the magnetic surface at both the low and the high field sides of the poloidal plane. This observation closely resembles the "fingering event" of the ballooning mode model with the high-m mode only predicted at the low field side.open1180Nsciescopu