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Understanding the multi-scale neoclassical and turbulence physics in the edge region (pedestal + scrape-off layer (SOL)) is required in order to reliably predict performance in future fusion devices. We explore turbulent characteristics in the edge region from a multi-scale neoclassical and turbulent XGC1 gyrokinetic simulation in a DIII-D like tokamak geometry, here excluding neutrals and collisions. For an H-mode type plasma with steep pedestal, it is found that the electron density fluctuations increase towards the separatrix, and stay high well into the SOL, reaching a maximum value of . Blobs are observed, born around the magnetic separatrix surface and propagate radially outward with velocities generally less than 1 km s−1. Strong poloidal motion of the blobs is also present, near 20 km s−1, consistent with E × B rotation. The electron density fluctuations show a negative skewness in the closed field-line pedestal region, consistent with the presence of ‘holes’, followed by a transition to strong positive skewness across the separatrix and into the SOL. These simulations indicate that not only neoclassical phenomena, but also turbulence, including the blob-generation mechanism, can remain important in the steep H-mode pedestal and SOL. Qualitative comparisons will be made to experimental observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dedicated experiments in ion cyclotron range heated enhanced D-alpha (EDA) H-mode and I-mode plasmas have been performed on Alcator C-Mod to identify the location of edge fluctuations inside the pedestal and to determine their plasma frame phase velocity. For this purpose, measurements from gas puff imaging (GPI) and gas puff charge exchange recombination spectroscopy (GP-CXRS) have been collected using the same optical views. The data suggest that the EDA H-mode-specific quasi-coherent mode (QCM) is centered near the radial electric field (Er) well minimum and propagates along the ion diamagnetic drift direction in the plasma frame. The weakly coherent mode (WCM) and the geodesic acoustic mode observed in I-mode, on the other hand, are found to be located around the outer shear layer of the Er well. This results in a weak plasma frame phase velocity mostly along the electron diamagnetic drift direction for the WCM. The findings in these EDA H-mode plasmas differ from probe measurements in ohmic EDA H-mode (LaBombard et al 2014 Phys. Plasmas21 056108), where the QCM was identified as an electron drift-wave located several mm outside the Er well minimum in a region of positive Er. To explore if instrumental effects of the optical diagnostics could be the cause of the difference, a synthetic diagnostic for GPI is introduced. This diagnostic reproduces amplitude ratios and relative radial shifts of the mode profiles determined from poloidally and toroidally oriented optics and, if instrumental effects related to GP-CXRS are also included, indicates that the measured location of the QCM and WCM relative to the Er well reported here is only weakly affected by instrumental effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beam emission spectroscopy (BES) diagnostic is used to measure fluctuations of electron density in the edge and core of fusion plasmas, and is a key in understanding turbulence in a plasma reactor. A synthetic BES diagnostic for the turbulence simulation code XGC1 has been developed using a realistic neutral beam model and an optical system easily adaptable to different kinds of tokamaks. The beam is modeled using multiple beam energy components, each one with a fraction of the total energy and their own mass and energy (mono-energetic components). The optical system consists of a lens focusing a bundle of optical fibers and resulting in a 2D measurement. The synthetic diagnostic gives similar correlation functions and behaviour of the turbulences than the usual methods that do not take into account the full 3D optical effects. The results, based on a simulation of XGC1, contain an analysis of the correlation (in space and time), a comparison of different approximations possible and their importance in accurately modeling the BES diagnostic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]