Geodesic acoustic modes (GAMs) were investigated on the T-10 tokamak using heavy ion beam probe, correlation reflectometry and multipin Langmuir probe diagnostics. Regimes with Ohmic heating and with on-and off-axis ECRH were studied. It was shown that GAMs are mainly the potential oscillations. Typically, the power spectrum of the oscillations has the form of a solitary quasimonochromatic peak with the contrast range 3-5. They are the manifestation of the torsional plasma oscillations with poloidal wavenumber m = 0, called zonal flows. The frequency of GAMs changes in the region of observation and decreases towards the plasma edge. After ECRH switch-on, the frequency increases, correlating with growth in the electron temperature T e . The frequency of the GAMs depends on the local T e as f GAM ∼ c s /R ∼ T 1/2 e , which is consistent with a theoretical scaling for GAM, where c s is the sound speed within a factor of unity. The GAMs on T-10 are found to have density limit, some magnetic components and an intermittent character. They tend to be more excited near low-q magnetic surfaces.

Sheared flows have been experimentally studied in TJ-II plasmas. In lowdensity ECH plasmas, sheared flows can be easily controlled by changing the plasma density, thereby allowing the radial origin and evolution of the edge velocity shear layer to be studied. In high density NBI heated plasmas a negative radial electric field is observed that is dominated by the diamagnetic component. The shear of the negative radial electric field increases at the L-H transition by an amount that depends on the magnetic configuration and heating power. Magnetic configurations with and without a low order rational surface close to the plasma edge show differences that may be interpreted in terms of local changes in the radial electric field induced by the rational surface that could facilitate the L-H transition. Fluctuation measurements show a reduction in the turbulence level that is strongest at the position of maximum E r shear. High temporal and spatial resolution measurements indicate that turbulence reduction precedes the increase in the mean sheared flow, but is simultaneous with the increase in the low frequency oscillating sheared flow. These observations may be interpreted in terms of turbulence suppression by oscillating flows, the so-called zonal flows.

This report summarizes the results of experimental turbulence investigations carried out at T-10 for more than 10 years. The turbulence characteristics were investigated using correlation reflectometry, multipin Langmuir probe (MLP) and heavy ion beam probe diagnostics. The reflectometry capabilities were analysed using 2D full-wave simulations and verified by direct comparison using a MLP. The ohmic and electron cyclotron resonance heated discharges show the distinct transition from the core turbulence, having complex spectral structure, to the unstructured one in the scrape-off layer. The core turbulence includes 'broad band, quasi-coherent' features, arising due to the excitation of rational surfaces with high poloidal m-numbers, with a low frequency near zero and specific oscillations at 15-30 kHz. All experimentally measured properties of low frequency and high frequency quasi-coherent oscillations are in good agreement with predictions of linear theory for the ion temperature gradient/dissipative trapped electron mode instabilities. Significant local changes in the turbulence characteristics were observed at the edge velocity shear layer and in the core near q = 1 radius after switching off the electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH). The local decrease in the electron heat conductivity and decrease in the turbulence level could be evidence of the formation of an electron internal transport barrier. The dynamic behaviour of the core turbulence was also investigated for the case of fast edge cooling and the beginning phase of ECRH.

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High frequency modes (150–300 kHz) are found in several magnetic configurations of TJ-II plasmas heated by neutral beam injection (NBI). The clear dependence of mode frequency on plasma density and mass species suggests them to be Alfvén eigenmodes. The appearance of these modes is linked to the presence of low order rational surfaces close to the rotational transform profile. They can exhibit steady or chirping behaviour depending on the plasma profiles. Frequency chirping is observed in NBI plasmas with broad temperature profiles, but rarely observed with relatively peaked profiles. The Alfvénic activity has been characterized in detail with magnetic coils for the standard configuration. Cross analyses with heavy ion beam probe and reflectometer signals have yielded spatial resolution and radial profiles of the perturbation. Correlation between magnetic coil signals and signals from diagnostics sensitive to edge ion losses, namely Langmuir probes and a fast ion loss detector, has been observed in some cases and characterized taking advantage of the chirping nature of the observed Alfvénic activity.