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Fusion performance in tokamaks hinges critically on the efficacy of the edge transport barrier (ETB) in suppressing energy losses. The new concept of ‘fingerprints’ is introduced to identify the instabilities that cause transport losses in the ETBs of many of today’s experiments, from among widely posited candidates. Analysis of the gyrokinetic-Maxwell equations and gyrokinetic simulations of experiments reveals that each mode type produces characteristic ratios of transport in the various channels: density, heat, and impurities. This, together with experimental observations of transport in some channel or of the relative size of the driving sources of channels, can identify or determine the dominant modes causing energy transport. In multiple H-mode cases with edge-localized modes that are examined, these fingerprints indicate that magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)-like modes are apparently not the dominant agent of energy transport; rather, this role is played by micro-tearing modes (MTMs) and electron temperature gradient (ETG) modes, and in addition, possibly by ion temperature gradient/trapped electron modes (ITG/TEM) on JET (Joint European Torus). MHD-like modes may dominate the electron particle losses. Fluctuation frequency can also be an important means of identification, and is often closely related to the transport fingerprint. The analytical arguments unify and explain previously disparate experimental observations on multiple devices, including DIII-D, JET, and ASDEX-U. Detailed simulations of two DIII-D ETBs also demonstrate and corroborate this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the gyrokinetic instabilities and transport in two representative JET pedestals, one (pulse 78697) from the JET configuration with a carbon wall (C) and another (pulse 92432) from after the installation of JET’s ITER-like Wall (ILW). The discharges were selected for a comparison of JET-ILW and JET-C discharges with good confinement at high current (3 MA, corresponding also to low ) and retain the distinguishing features of JET-C and JET-ILW, notably, decreased pedestal top temperature for JET-ILW. A comparison of the profiles and heating power reveals a stark qualitative difference between the discharges: the JET-ILW pulse (92432) requires twice the heating power, at a gas rate of e s−1, to sustain roughly half the temperature gradient of the JET-C pulse (78697), operated at zero gas rate. This points to heat transport as a central component of the dynamics limiting the JET-ILW pedestal and reinforces the following emerging JET-ILW pedestal transport paradigm, which is proposed for further examination by both theory and experiment. ILW conditions modify the density pedestal in ways that decrease the normalized pedestal density gradient a/Ln, often via an outward shift in relation to the temperature pedestal. This is attributable to some combination of direct metal wall effects and the need for increased fueling to mitigate tungsten contamination. The modification to the density profile increases , thereby producing more robust ion temperature gradient (ITG) and electron temperature gradient driven instability. The decreased pedestal gradients for JET-ILW (92432) also result in a strongly reduced shear rate, further enhancing the ion scale turbulence. Collectively, these effects limit the pedestal temperature and demand more heating power to achieve good pedestal performance. Our simulations, consistent with basic theoretical arguments, find higher ITG turbulence, stronger stiffness, and higher pedestal transport in the ILW plasma at lower . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first high fidelity gyrokinetic simulations of the energy losses in the transport barriers of large tokamaks in pursuit of fusion gain are presented. These simulations calculate the turbulent energy losses with an extensive treatment of relevant physical effects—fully kinetic, non-linear, electromagnetic—inclusive of all major plasma species, and in equilibria with relevant shape and local bootstrap current for fusion-relevant cases. We find that large plasmas with a small normalized gyroradius lie in an unexpected regime of enhanced losses that can prevent the projected energy gain. Our simulations are qualitatively consistent with recent experiments on JET with an ITER-like wall. Interestingly and very importantly, the simulations predict parameter regimes of reduced transport that are quite fusion-favorable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

JET has been unable to recover historical confinement levels when operating with an ITER-like wall (ILW) due largely to the inaccessibility of high pedestal temperatures. Finding a path to overcome this challenge is of utmost importance for both a prospective JET DT campaign and for future ITER operation. Gyrokinetic simulations (using the Gene code) quantitatively capture experimental transport levels for a representative experimental discharge and qualitatively recover the major experimental trends. Microtearing turbulence is a major transport mechanisms for the low-temperature pedestals characteristic of unseeded JET-ILW discharges. At higher temperatures and/or lower , we identify electrostatic ITG transport of a type that is strongly shear-suppressed on smaller machines. Consistent with observations, this transport mechanism is strongly reduced by the presence of a low-Z impurity (e.g. carbon or nitrogen at the level of ), recovering the accessibility of high pedestal temperatures. Notably, simulations based on dimensionless scans recover historical scaling behavior except in the unique JET-ILW parameter regime where ITG turbulence becomes important. Our simulations also elucidate the observed degradation of confinement caused by gas puffing, emphasizing the important role of the density pedestal structure. This study maps out important regions of parameter space, providing insights that may point to optimal physical regimes that can enable the recovery of high pedestal temperatures on JET. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first nonlinear gyrokinetic turbulence simulations that quantitatively reproduce experimental transport levels in an H-mode pedestal are reported. In the JET-ILW (ITER-like wall) pedestal, the bulk of the transport in the steep gradient region is caused by the turbulence driven by the microtearing mode (MTM). Kinetic ballooning modes are found to be in a second-stability regime. With contributions from the neoclassical and electron temperature gradient driven transport, the MTM mechanism reproduces, quantitatively, the experimental power balance across most of the pedestal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent results on electromagnetic turbulence from gyrokinetic studies in different magnetic configurations are overviewed, detailing the physics of electromagnetic turbulence and transport, and the effect of equilibrium magnetic field scale lengths. Ion temperature gradient (ITG) turbulence is shown to produce magnetic stochasticity through nonlinear excitation of linearly stable tearing-parity modes. The excitation, which is catalyzed by the zonal flow, produces an electron heat flux proportional to β2 that deviates markedly from quasilinear theory. Above a critical beta known as the non-zonal transition (NZT), the magnetic fluctuations disable zonal flows by allowing electron streaming that shorts zonal potential between flux surfaces. This leads to a regime of very high transport levels. Kinetic ballooning mode (KBM) saturation is described. For tokamaks saturation involves twisted structures arising from magnetic shear; for helical plasmas oppositely inclined convection cells interact by mutual shearing. Microtearing modes are unstable in the magnetic geometry of tokamaks and the reversed field pinch (RFP). In NSTX instability requires finite collisionality, large beta, and is favored by increasing magnetic shear and decreasing safety factor. In the RFP, a new branch of microtearing with finite growth rate at vanishing collisionality is shown from analytic theory to require the electron grad-B/curvature drift resonance. However, gyrokinetic modeling of experimental MST RFP discharges at finite beta reveals turbulence that is electrostatic, has large zonal flows, and a large Dimits shift. Analysis shows that the shorter equilibrium magnetic field scale lengths increase the critical gradients associated with the instability of trapped electron modes, ITG and microtearing, while increasing beta thresholds for KBM instability and the NZT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gyrokinetic GENE code is used to study the inter-ELM H-mode pedestal profile evolution for an ASDEX Upgrade discharge. Density gradient driven trapped electron modes are the dominant pedestal instability during the early density-buildup phase. Nonlinear simulations produce particle transport levels consistent with experimental expectations. Later inter-ELM phases appear to be simultaneously constrained by electron temperature gradient (ETG) and kinetic ballooning mode (KBM) turbulence. The electron temperature gradient achieves a critical value early in the ELM cycle, concurrent with the appearance of both microtearing modes and ETG modes. Nonlinear ETG simulations demonstrate that the profiles lie at a nonlinear critical gradient. The nominal profiles are stable to KBM, but moderate increases in β are sufficient to surpass the KBM threshold. Certain aspects of the dynamics support the premise of KBM-constrained pedestal evolution; the density and temperature profiles separately undergo large changes, but in a manner that keeps the pressure profile constant and near the KBM limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]