Abstract
Turbulence properties in the scrape-off layer (SOL) in the presence of ion cyclotron frequency heating (ICRH) are compared to instances where it is absent. The discharges are all in a high-confinement mode (-mode) regime. During ICRH, the SOL plasma density increases whereas turbulence large-scale and convective structures are shown to be suppressed. The probability distribution function is thus recorded to be closer to a Gaussian, and a net decrease in the low-frequency density fluctuations is reflected in the power spectra. Consequently, the level of turbulent fluctuations decreases significantly. Turbulence suppression is also reported during edge localized modes (ELMs) where both the ELMs-induced transport and duration are strongly affected. The increase of neutrals by gas puffing did not alter this behavior. We deduce that ICRH can be used as to suppress convective transport and reduce the ELM’s amplitude.
- Received 15 April 2010
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.165001
© 2010 The American Physical Society