Experimental results from a magnetized argon plasma column demonstrate a controlled transition to a turbulent state as the magnetic field (B) strength is increased. At lower B there is an onset of fluctuations in density and potential. These are shown to be due to drift waves that have been modified by flow shear. As B is increased the character of the fluctuations undergoes several changes. These changes include a general decrease of coherence, an increase in the phase lag (between density and potential), and a straightening of the observed dispersion relation. Concomitantly, the intensifying and broadening fluctuation spectra lead to significant cross-field radial particle transport. Other nonlinear dynamical activity is inferred during the transition, e.g., three-wave interactions, the formation of localized structures (that do not significantly contribute to the net particle transport), and energy transfer to the largest available scales.
A wide variety of fast ion driven instabilities are excited during neutral beam injection ͑NBI͒ in the National Spherical Torus Experiment ͑NSTX͒ ͓Nucl. Fusion 40, 557 ͑2000͔͒ due to the large ratio of fast ion velocity to Alfvén velocity, V fast / V Alfvén , and high fast ion beta. The ratio V fast / V Alfvén in ITER ͓Nucl. Fusion 39, 2137 ͑1999͔͒ and NSTX is comparable. The modes can be divided into three categories: chirping energetic particle modes ͑EPM͒ in the frequency range 0 to 120 kHz, the toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes ͑TAE͒ with a frequency range of 50 kHz to 200 kHz, and the compressional and global Alfvén eigenmodes ͑CAE and GAE, respectively͒ between 300 kHz and the ion cyclotron frequency. Fast ion driven modes are of particular interest because of their potential to cause substantial fast ion losses. In all regimes of NBI heated operation we see transient neutron rate drops, correlated with bursts of TAE or fishbone-like EPMs. The fast ion loss events are predominantly correlated with the EPMs, although losses are also seen with bursts of multiple, large amplitude TAE. The latter is of particular significance for ITER; the transport of fast ions from the expected resonance overlap in phase space of a "sea" of large amplitude TAE is the kind of physics expected in ITER. The internal structure and amplitude of the TAE and EPMs has been measured with quadrature reflectometry and soft x-ray cameras. The TAE bursts have internal amplitudes of ñ / n = 1% and toroidal mode numbers 2 Ͻ n Ͻ 7. The EPMs are core localized, kink-like modes similar to the fishbones in conventional aspect ratio tokamaks. Unlike the fishbones, the EPMs can be present with q͑0͒ Ͼ 1 and can have a toroidal mode number n Ͼ 1. The range of the frequency chirp can be quite large and the resonance can be through a fishbone-like precessional drift resonance, or through a bounce resonance.
Kinetic theory and experimental observations of a special class of energetic particle driven instabilities called here beta-induced Alfvén-acoustic eigenmodes ͑BAAEs͒ are reported confirming, previous results ͓N. N. Gorelenkov et al., Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 49, B371 ͑2007͔͒. The kinetic theory is based on the ballooning dispersion relation where the drift frequency effects are retained. BAAE gaps are recovered in kinetic theory. It is shown that the observed certain low-frequency instabilities on DIII-D ͓J. L. Luxon, Nucl. Fusion 42, 614 ͑2002͔͒ and National Spherical Torus Experiment ͓M. Ono, S. M. Kaye, Y.-K. M. Peng et al., Nucl. Fusion 40, 557 ͑2000͔͒ are consistent with their identification as BAAEs. BAAEs deteriorate the fast ion confinement in DIII-D and can have a similar effect in next-step fusion plasmas, especially if excited together with multiple global toroidicity-induced shear Alfvén eigenmode instabilities.BAAEs can also be used to diagnose safety factor profiles, a technique known as magnetohydrodynamic spectroscopy.
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