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Title: Correlations between quasi-coherent fluctuations and the pedestal evolution during the inter-edge localized modes phase on DIII-D

Journal Article · · Physics of Plasmas
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4921148· OSTI ID:1257720
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [4];  [2];  [5]; ORCiD logo [1];  [2]
  1. Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
  2. General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)
  3. Physics and Astronomy Dept., Los Angeles, CA (United States)
  4. Department of Engineering Physics, Madison, WI (United States)
  5. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Direct measurements of the pedestal recovery during an edge-localized mode cycle provide evidence that quasi-coherent fluctuations (QCFs) play a role in the inter-ELM pedestal dynamics. Using fast Thomson scattering measurements, the pedestal density and temperature evolutions are probed on sub-millisecond time scales to show a fast recovery of the density gradient compared to the temperature gradient. The temperature gradient appears to provide a drive for the onset of quasi-coherent fluctuations (as measured with the magnetic probe and the density diagnostics) localized in the pedestal. The amplitude evolution of these QCFs tracks the temperature gradient evolution including its saturation. Such correlation suggests that these QCFs play a key role in limiting the pedestal temperature gradient. The saturation of the QCFs coincides with the pressure gradient reaching the kinetic-ballooning mode (KBM) critical gradient as predicted by EPED1. Furthermore, linear microinstability analysis using GS2 indicates that the steep gradient is near the KBM threshold. Furthermore, the modeling and the observations together suggest that QCFs are consistent with dominant KBMs (although microtearing cannot be excluded as subdominant).

Research Organization:
Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-09CH11466; AC05-00OR22725; FC02-04ER54698
OSTI ID:
1257720
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1228241; OSTI ID: 1350064
Report Number(s):
PPPL-5096; PHPAEN
Journal Information:
Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 5; ISSN 1070-664X
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 63 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (28)

Observation of quasi-coherent edge fluctuations in Ohmic plasmas on National Spherical Torus Experiment journal April 2016
Quasi-coherent mode simulation during inter-ELM period in HL-2A journal December 2018
Long-lived predator-prey dynamics in the pedestal of near-zero torque high performance DIII-D plasmas journal September 2019
Experimental observation of coexisting electromagnetic fluctuations correlating with the inter-ELM pedestal evolution on EAST journal December 2019
Intermediate- k density and magnetic field fluctuations during inter-ELM pedestal evolution in MAST journal November 2015
Effects of density gradients and fluctuations at the plasma edge on ECEI measurements at ASDEX Upgrade journal February 2018
Flow shear suppression of pedestal ion temperature gradient turbulence-A first principles theoretical framework journal June 2018
Inter-ELM evolution of the edge current density in JET-ILW type I ELMy H-mode plasmas journal June 2018
Effect of magnetic shear on edge turbulence in SOL-like open field line configuration in QUEST journal June 2018
Observation of modified divertor particle flux with coherent modes in KSTAR edge plasma journal January 2019
High frequency edge coherent modes studied with the ultra-fast swept reflectometer on ASDEX Upgrade journal June 2019
Dynamics of the pedestal transport during edge localized mode cycles at ASDEX Upgrade journal January 2020
A gyrokinetic perspective on the JET-ILW pedestal journal January 2017
Divertor heat flux simulations in ELMy H-mode discharges of EAST journal August 2017
Pedestal evolution physics in low triangularity JET tokamak discharges with ITER-like wall journal November 2017
Nonlinear coupling induced toroidal structure of edge localized modes journal December 2017
Effect of pedestal fluctuation on ELM frequency in the EAST tokamak journal March 2018
Experimental study on the magnetic coherent mode in the H-mode pedestal of EAST journal September 2018
Characterization of low-frequency inter-ELM modes of H-mode discharges at ASDEX Upgrade journal October 2018
Long-lived coupled peeling ballooning modes preceding ELMs on JET journal March 2019
Multi-scale interaction of pedestal instabilities in H-mode plasma on the EAST tokamak journal April 2019
Role of the pedestal position on the pedestal performance in AUG, JET-ILW and TCV and implications for ITER journal June 2019
Gyrokinetic analysis and simulation of pedestals to identify the culprits for energy losses using ‘fingerprints’ journal July 2019
Direct gyrokinetic comparison of pedestal transport in JET with carbon and ITER-like walls journal July 2019
A low-frequency axisymmetric oscillation in the high-confinement mode pedestal on the EAST tokamak journal September 2019
Nonlinear simulation and energy analysis of the EAST coherent mode journal January 2020
Direct Gyrokinetic Comparison of Pedestal Transport in JET with Carbon and ITER-Like Walls text January 2019
Gyrokinetic analysis and simulation of pedestals, to identify the culprits for energy losses using fingerprints text January 2019