Edge transport and confinement changes induced by radial electric fields, externally imposed in TEXTOR-94 by means of electrode biasing, were investigated. The edge profiles of the electric field E r were measured continuously by a specially developed nine-tip Langmuir probe, thus allowing the study of the relative spatial and temporal dynamics of E r and its radial gradient and possible ensuing transport changes. A particle transport barrier is found to be built up as the electric field gradient increases, thus strengthening the conjecture that E × B stabilization is a viable mechanism for improved confinement in tokamaks.Partner in the Trilateral Euregio Cluster (TEC).

The first results of the Dynamic Ergodic Divertor in TEXTOR, when operating in the m=n 3=1 mode configuration, are presented. The deeply penetrating external magnetic field perturbation of this configuration increases the toroidal plasma rotation. Staying below the excitation threshold for the m=n 2=1 tearing mode, this toroidal rotation is always in the direction of the plasma current, even if the toroidal projection of the rotating magnetic field perturbation is in the opposite direction. The observed toroidal rotation direction is consistent with a radial electric field, generated by an enhanced electron transport in the ergodic layers near the resonances of the perturbation. This is an effect different from theoretical predictions, which assume a direct coupling between rotating perturbation and plasma to be the dominant effect of momentum transfer. Helical magnetic field perturbations are introduced in tokamak plasmas to study, on the one hand, the ergodic divertor concept [1,2] and, on the other hand, the interaction of such perturbations with the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) stability of the plasma [3,4]. Recent experiments, for instance, suggest a control method to mitigate edge localized modes while maintaining the pedestal pressure and thus plasma confinement [5][6][7]. However, open questions remain, in particular, with regard to the influence on the momentum transport of the plasma. Indeed, one motivation to equip the tokamak TEXTOR with the Dynamic Ergodic Divertor (DED) [8] was to be able to study the interaction between helical magnetic field perturbations and plasma transport and stability.The DED consists of 16 magnetic perturbation coils (four quadruples), plus two additional coils for the compensation of the magnetic field imperfections at the feeder regions of the coils. The coils wind helically around the inner side of the torus (major radius: R 1:75 m; minor radius of the circular plasma cross section typically a 0:47 m) with a pitch corresponding to the magnetic field lines of the magnetic flux surface with a safety factor of q 3. Depending on the choice of coil connections to the power supplies, base modes with different poloidal and toroidal mode numbers can be produced. For the DED these are m=n 12=4, 6=2, and 3=1. The penetration depth into the plasma strongly depends on the mode numbers: While the m=n 12=4 affects the edge plasma only, the m=n 3=1 mode reaches into the plasma center (the maximum radial magnetic field component achievable by the DED at the q 2 surface is 10 ÿ3 of the total magnetic field).In this Letter we present results obtained by the m=n 3=1 mode operation. Covering about one-third of the poloidal cross section of the torus, the mode spectrum of the DED does not contain many sidebands. For the m=n 3=1 configuration the three dominant resonant components inside the plasma are m 1, 2, and 3. In Fig. 1 their strengths at the respective resonances are PRL 94, 015003 (2005) P H Y S I C A L

Externally launched lower hybrid (LH) waves do not propagate into the plasma core during operations of JET with radial profiles with relatively high density even at the periphery, approaching the condition necessary for ITER. Modelling results indicate that this problem would be caused by parametric instability (PI)induced LH spectral broadening, which is expected to occur in the plasma edge and prevents the coupled LH power penetrating the plasma core. However, operation with relatively high electron temperature at the edge is expected to diminish the PI effect and extend the LH current drive effectiveness to reactor-grade high density plasmas, consistent with results obtained in other experiments.

Alpha particles with energies on the order of megaelectronvolts will be the main source of plasma heating in future magnetic confinement fusion reactors. Instead of heating fuel ions, most of the energy of alpha particles is transferred to electrons in the plasma. Furthermore, alpha particles can also excite Alfvénic instabilities, which were previously considered to be detrimental to the performance of the fusion device. Here we report improved thermal ion confinement in the presence of megaelectronvolts ions and strong fast ion-driven Alfvénic instabilities in recent experiments on the Joint European Torus. Detailed transport analysis of these experiments reveals turbulence suppression through a complex multi-scale mechanism that generates large-scale zonal flows. This holds promise for more economical operation of fusion reactors with dominant alpha particle heating and ultimately cheaper fusion electricity.

We present results of massively parallel kinetic simulations of the triple Langmuir probes at JET. These results indicate that the probes under certain conditions, e.g. during ELMs, can significantly under/over estimate the electron temperature.