David J. Schlossberg

Structure and scaling properties of the geodesic acoustic mode

Characteristics and scaling properties of the geodesic acoustic mode (GAM), a coherent, radially-sheared high frequency (~15?kHz) zonal flow oscillation, are studied systematically using time-delay-estimation techniques applied to localized, multi-point density fluctuation measurements obtained by beam emission spectroscopy on DIII-D. The GAM amplitude is shown to increase strongly with increasing safety factor, q95, and to likewise become undetectably small for q95 < 4.2, qualitatively consistent with theoretical predictions based on collisional damping as well as simulations. The radial structure of the GAM exhibits peak amplitude in the radial range 0.88 < r/a < 0.95 with a rapid amplitude reduction inside and outside this region. The measured frequency is close to the predicted frequency, though some deviation to higher frequency is observed at lower q. The GAM amplitude is also shown to increase with plasma elongation, ?, while its frequency decreases.

Dependence of the L- to H-mode Power Threshold on Toroidal Rotation and the Link to Edge Turbulence Dynamics

The injected power required to induce a transition from L-mode to H-mode plasmas is found to depend strongly on the injected neutral beam torque and consequent plasma toroidal rotation. Edge turbulence and flows, measured near the outboard midplane of the plasma (0.85 < r/a < 1.0) on DIII-D with the high-sensitivity 2D beam emission spectroscopy (BES) system, likewise vary with rotation and suggest a causative connection. The L–H power threshold in plasmas with the ion ∇B drift directed away from the X-point decreases from 4–6 MW with co-current beam injection, to 2–3 MW near zero net injected torque and to <2 MW with counter-injection in the discharges examined. Plasmas with the ion ∇B drift directed towards the X-point exhibit a qualitatively similar though less pronounced power threshold dependence on rotation. 2D edge turbulence measurements with BES show an increasing poloidal flow shear as the L–H transition is approached in all conditions. As toroidal rotation is varied from co-current to balanced in L-mode plasmas, the edge turbulence changes from a uni-modal character to a bi-modal structure, with the appearance of a low-frequency (f = 10–50 kHz) mode propagating in the electron diamagnetic direction, similar to what is observed as the ion ∇B drift is directed towards the X-point in co-rotating plasmas. At low rotation, the poloidal turbulence flow near the edge reverses prior to the L–H transition, generating a significant poloidal flow shear that exceeds the measured turbulence decorrelation rate. This increased poloidal turbulence velocity shear appears to facilitate the L–H transition. No such reversal is observed in high rotation plasmas. The high-frequency poloidal turbulence velocity spectrum exhibits a transition from a geodesic acoustic mode zonal flow to a higher-power, lower frequency zero-mean-frequency zonal flow as rotation varies from co-current to balanced during a torque scan at constant injected neutral beam power, perhaps also facilitating the L–H transition. This reduced power threshold at lower toroidal rotation may benefit inherently low-rotation plasmas such as ITER.

Turbulence velocimetry of density fluctuation imaging data

Analysis techniques to measure the time-resolved flow field of turbulence are developed and applied to images of density fluctuations obtained with the beam emission spectroscopy diagnostic system on the DIII-D tokamak. Velocimetry applications include measurement of turbulent particle flux, zonal flows, and the Reynolds stress. The flow field of turbulent eddies exhibits quasisteady poloidal flows as well as high-frequency radial and poloidal motion associated with electrostatic potential fluctuations and strongly nonlinear multifield interactions. The orthogonal dynamic programming technique, developed for fluid-based particle and amorphous shape (smoke) flow analysis, is investigated to measure such turbulence flows. Sensitivity and accuracy are assessed and sample results discussed.

Enhanced sensitivity beam emission spectroscopy system for nonlinear turbulence measurements

An upgraded Beam Emission Spectroscopy (BES) system has been deployed to access low amplitude turbulence regions near internal transport barriers on the DIII-D tokamak. Sixteen high sensitivity channels are being installed. A significant increase in total signal to noise is achieved by: 1.) Increased spatial volume sampling tailored to known turbulence characteristics; 2.) An increased throughput spectrometer assembly to isolate the local beam fluorescence, coupled to new large-area photoconductive photodiodes; 3.) A new sharp edge interference filter designed to optimize detection of the beam emission plus a significant fraction of the thermal deuterium charge exchange. A new data acquisition system has been installed, providing an 8 times increase in integration time or an increased sample rate. Preliminary results from the upgraded system show a signal enhancement of greater than an order of magnitude. A clear broadband density fluctuation signal is observed in H-mode discharges with the upgraded BES system, demonstrating the significant performance enhancement.

2D properties of core turbulence on DIII-D and comparison to gyrokinetic simulations

Quantitative 2D characteristics of localized density fluctuations are presented over the range of 0.3<r/a<0.9 in L-mode plasmas on DIII-D [J. L. Luxon, Nucl. Fusion 42, 614 (2002)]. Broadband density fluctuations increase in amplitude from n/n<0.5% in the deep core to n/n∼2.5% near the outer region. The observed Doppler-shift due to the E×B velocity matches well with the measured turbulence group and phase velocities (in toroidally rotating neutral beam heated plasmas). Turbulence decorrelation rates are found to be ∼200 kHz at the edge and to decrease toward the core (0.45<r/a<0.9) where they approach the E×B shearing rate (∼50 kHz). Radial and poloidal correlation lengths are found to scale with the ion gyroradius and exhibit an asymmetric poloidally elongated eddy structure. The ensemble-averaged turbulent eddy structure changes its tilt with respect to the radial-poloidal coordinates in the core, consistent with an E×B shear mechanism. The 2D spatial correlation and wavenumber spectra [S(kr,kθ)] are...

Spatial transfer function for the beam emission spectroscopy diagnostic on DIII-D

The spatial transfer function for the beam emission spectroscopy (BES) diagnostic is critical to quantitatively interpret local density fluctuation measurements. A three-dimensional geometrical calculation of the spatial transfer function is presented for the upgraded BES diagnostic on DIII-D to determine its spatial resolution and wave-number sensitivity. The spatial transfer function calculation for the BES system on DIII-D incorporates the high speed (f∕2) collection optics, an optical fiber bundle, neutral beam-sight line geometry, the neutral beam cross-section intensity profile, magnetic field pitch angle, as well as atomic physics of the finite atomic transition time of the collisionally excited beam atoms. The resulting imaged volumes for each BES channel typically have ∼1–2cm radial and poloidal resolutions. In addition, the viewing volume is nominally aligned along a magnetic field line to minimize spatial smearing of the field-aligned turbulent eddies. This calculation is crucial for performing...

High sensitivity beam emission spectroscopy for core plasma turbulence imaging (invited)

An upgraded beam emission spectroscopy (BES) diagnostic has been developed and deployed at the DIII-D tokamak to achieve a dramatic increase in sensitivity to small-scale density fluctuations. This upgraded BES diagnostic system incorporates high-throughput silica optical fiber bundles (1.62mm2-ster per channel), ultra fast spectrometer collection optics, custom-designed high-transmission interference filters, and large-area photodiodes. The fiber bundle images are optimized to match measured radial and poloidal asymmetries of turbulent eddies. These enhancements result in an approximately one order of magnitude increase in measured beam emission signal. As a consequence of the relative contributions of photon and electronic noise, the net increase in sensitivity to plasma density fluctuation power ranges from ten to 30, allowing for the observation of small-amplitude (n∕n⩾0.1%) density fluctuations associated with turbulence and energetic particle modes in the core of high-performance discharges. An arr...

A Thomson scattering diagnostic on the Pegasus Toroidal experimenta)

By exploiting advances in high-energy pulsed lasers, volume phase holographic diffraction gratings, and image intensified CCD cameras, a new Thomson scattering system has been designed to operate from 532 - 592 nm on the Pegasus Toroidal Experiment. The system uses a frequency-doubled, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser operating with an energy of 2 J at 532 nm and a pulse duration of 7 ns FWHM. The beam path is < 7m, the beam diameter remains ≤ 3 mm throughout the plasma, and the beam dump and optical baffling is located in vacuum but can be removed for maintenance by closing a gate valve. A custom lens system collects scattered photons from 15 cm < R(maj) < 85 cm at ~F∕6 with 14 mm radial resolution. Initial measurements will be made at 12 spatial locations with 12 simultaneous background measurements at corresponding locations. The estimated signal at the machine-side collection optics is ~3.5 × 10(4) photons for plasma densities of 10(19) m(-3). Typical plasmas measured will range from densities of mid-10(18) to mid-10(19) m(-3) with electron temperatures from 10 to 1000 eV.

A compact multichannel spectrometer for Thomson scattering.

The availability of high-efficiency volume phase holographic (VPH) gratings and intensified CCD (ICCD) cameras have motivated a simplified, compact spectrometer for Thomson scattering detection. Measurements of T(e) < 100 eV are achieved by a 2971 l∕mm VPH grating and measurements T(e) > 100 eV by a 2072 l∕mm VPH grating. The spectrometer uses a fast-gated (~2 ns) ICCD camera for detection. A Gen III image intensifier provides ~45% quantum efficiency in the visible region. The total read noise of the image is reduced by on-chip binning of the CCD to match the 8 spatial channels and the 10 spectral bins on the camera. Three spectrometers provide a minimum of 12 spatial channels and 12 channels for background subtraction.

Ultrafast ion temperature and toroidal velocity fluctuation spectroscopy diagnostic design

High sensitivity measurements of localized, long-wavelength ion temperature, and toroidal velocity fluctuations (T(i)/T(i),v(parallel)/v(parallel)) are required to address critical issues pertaining to turbulent transport. This diagnostic design exploits emission from charge exchange recombination between neutral beam atoms and the intrinsic carbon impurity. The n=8-7 transition of C VI at lambda(0)=529.05 nm will be measured. The key difference between this diagnostic design and conventional charge exchange spectrometers is the use of high-efficiency prism-coupled transmission gratings, avalanche photodiode detectors, and high-throughput collection optics. The spectrometer achieves a spectral resolution of 0.25 nm, and observes 528.0-530.0 nm with eight discrete spectral channels, with an entrance throughput of 1.6 mm(2) sr, two orders of magnitude larger than conventional charge exchange system. The diagnostic will achieve a turbulence-relevant time resolution of 1 micros. System modeling demonstrates a sensitivity of T(i)/T(i) < or = 1%.