An emerging understanding of H-mode discharges in tokamaks*

Abstract

A remarkable degree of consistency of experimental results from tokamaks throughout the world has developed with regard to the phenomenology of the transition from L‐mode to H‐mode confinement in tokamaks. The transition is initiated in a narrow layer at the plasma periphery where density fluctuations are suppressed and steep gradients of temperature and density form in a region with large first and second radial derivatives in the v_E=(E×B)/B² flow velocity. These results are qualitatively consistent with theories which predict suppression of fluctuations by shear or curvature in v_E. The required v_E flow is generated very rapidly when the magnitude of the heating power or of an externally imposed radial current exceed threshold values and several theoretical models have been developed to explain the observed changes in the v_E flow. After the transition occurs, the altered boundary conditions enable the development of improved confinement in the plasma interior on a confinement time scale. The resulting H‐mode discharge has typically twice the confinement of L‐mode discharges and regimes of further improved confinement have been obtained in some H‐mode scenarios.