Issue |
EPL
Volume 85, Number 2, January 2009
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | 25002 | |
Number of page(s) | 6 | |
Section | Physics of Gases, Plasmas and Electric Discharges | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/85/25002 | |
Published online | 22 January 2009 |
On the link between parallel flows, turbulence and electric fields in the edge of the TJ-II stellarator
Laboratorio Nacional de Fusión, EURATOM-CIEMAT Association - Av. Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid, Spain, EU
Corresponding author: arturo.alonso@ciemat.es
Received:
16
July
2008
Accepted:
15
December
2008
The structure of turbulence and parallel and perpendicular EB flows have been investigated across the transition to improved confinement regimes induced by biasing. The radial electric field at the edge and the E
B shear increase, while the level of edge fluctuations is reduced significantly during such improved confinement regimes in TJ-II. In addition, the parallel flow Mach number changes by
in the plasma edge region which is in rough agreement with the expected change in the Pfirsch-Schlüter flow. In order to investigate the role of E
B sheared flows and turbulence on parallel dynamics, the cross-correlation coefficient
was computed in the presence of perpendicular flows induced by biasing. Although the level of turbulence decreases, the phase coherence increases and the resulting turbulent forces
are shown to be high enough to affect parallel dynamics. These findings represent the first experimental evidence of the dual role of electric fields as a stabilizing mechanism of plasma turbulence and as an agent affecting the parallel momentum balance via turbulence modification.
PACS: 52.35.Ra – Plasma turbulence / 52.30.-q – Plasma dynamics and flow / 52.55.Hc – Stellarators, torsatrons, heliacs, bumpy tori, and other toroidal confinement devices
© EPLA, 2009
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