Scaling and transport analysis of divertor conditions on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

Abstract

Detailed measurements and transport analysis of divertor conditions in Alcator C‐Mod [Phys. Plasmas 1, 1511 (1994)] are presented for a range of line‐averaged densities, 0.7<n̄_e20 m⁻³. Three parallel heat transport regimes are evident in the scrape‐off layer: sheath‐limited conduction, high‐recycling divertor, and detached divertor, which can coexist in the same discharge. Local cross‐field pressure gradients are found to scale simply with a local electron temperature. This scaling is consistent with classical electron parallel conduction being balanced by anomalous cross‐field transport (χ_⊥∼0.2 m² s⁻¹) proportional to the local pressure gradient. A 60%–80% of divertor power is radiated in attached discharges, approaching 100% in detached discharges. Detachment occurs when the heat flux to the plate is low and the plasma pressure is high (T_e∼5 eV). High neutral pressures in the divertor are nearly always present (1–20 mTorr), sufficient to remove parallel momentum via ion–neutral collisions.