A comprehensive investigation has been performed of the static and dynamic behaviour of detached recombining plasmas in the linear divertor plasma simulator NAGDIS-II. For stationary plasma detachment, the transition from electron-ion recombination (EIR) to molecular activated recombination (MAR) has been observed by injecting hydrogen gas into high density helium plasmas. The particle loss rate due to MAR is found to be comparable to that of EIR. Experiments have also been performed by the injection of a plasma heat pulse produced by RF heating into the detached helium plasma to demonstrate the dynamic behaviour of volumetric plasma recombination. Negative spikes in the Balmer series line emission were observed and found to be similar to the so called negative ELM observed in tokamak divertors. Observed Balmer spectra were analysed in detail using the collisional-radiative model. A rapid increase of the ion flux to the target plate was observed associated with the re-ionization of the highly excited atoms generated by EIR.

This Letter presents the discovery of macroscale electron temperature fluctuations with a long radial correlation length comparable to the plasma minor radius in a toroidal plasma. Their spatiotemporal structure is characterized by a low frequency of ∼1-3  kHz, ballistic radial propagation, a poloidal or toroidal mode number of m/n=1/1 (or 2/1), and an amplitude of ∼2% at maximum. Nonlinear coupling between the long-range fluctuations and the microscopic fluctuations is identified. A change of the amplitude of the long-range fluctuation is transmitted across the plasma radius at the velocity which is of the order of the drift velocity.

The variety of scalar and vector fields in laboratory and nature plasmas is formed by plasma turbulence. Drift-wave fluctuations, driven by density gradients in magnetized plasmas, are known to relax the density gradient while they can generate flows. On the other hand, the sheared flow in the direction of magnetic fields causes Kelvin-Helmholtz type instabilities, which mix particle and momentum. These different types of fluctuations coexist in laboratory and nature, so that the multiple mechanisms for structural formation exist in extremely non-equilibrium plasmas. Here we report the discovery of a new order in plasma turbulence, in which chained structure formation is realized by cross-interaction between inhomogeneities of scalar and vector fields. The concept of cross-ferroic turbulence is developed, and the causal relation in the multiple mechanisms behind structural formation is identified, by measuring the relaxation rate and dissipation power caused by the complex turbulence-driven flux.

In this paper, we show the direct observation of the parallel flow structure and the parallel Reynolds stress in a linear magnetized plasma, in which a cross-ferroic turbulence system is formed [Inagaki et al., Sci. Rep. 6, 22189 (2016)]. It is shown that the parallel Reynolds stress induced by the density gradient driven drift wave is the source of the parallel flow structure. Moreover, the generated parallel flow shear by the parallel Reynolds stress is found to drive the parallel flow shear driven instability D'Angelo mode, which coexists with the original drift wave. The excited D'Angelo mode induces the inward particle flux, which seems to help in maintaining the peaked density profile.

We report a detailed correlation technique to identify the long-range temperature fluctuation in the Large Helical Device. Correlation hunting has successfully realized the observation of electron temperature fluctuations, which are characterized by their correlation length comparable to the plasma minor radius, with low frequency of ∼ 1-3 kHz, ballistic radial propagation (at a speed of ∼1 km/s, of the order of diamagnetic drift velocity), spatial mode number of m/n = 1/1 (or 2/1), and amplitude of ∼2% at the maximum. Bicoherence analysis confirmed their nonlinear coupling with local microscopic turbulent fluctuations. This long-range temperature fluctuation is a possible carrier of fast propagation in transport processes observed so far. We also comment on the theoretical interpretation.