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High density operation in the ASDEX Upgrade divertor I with horizontal target plates is reported. Density rampup experiments were carried out to characterize detached plasma conditions in the divertor. During the detached phases, hydrogen continua and spectral line emission from high-n shells were observed in the divertor due to the volume recombination. The spectroscopic measurements provide a consistent picture of the evolution of the divertor plasma parameters during the density ramp. By means of the ADAS atomic physics program package, the rate of volume recombination was evaluated, including the effect of opacity. The relative importance of volume recombination in comparison with the target plasma sink is discussed. Observations indicating differences in volume recombination between the two divertor legs are presented, and the connection of volume recombination to divertor detachment is addressed.

Radiation losses in divertor I of ASDEX Upgrade have been studied at high density when the divertor is detached. Spectroscopic measurements in the visible and VUV spectral range allow a characterization of both the impurity source and radiation. Despite very low target temperatures of 1 eV, carbon is released from the target with high rates by chemical sputtering. Power losses are estimated from the resonance lines of deuterium and the carbon ions. A comparison with bolometry shows that 80% of the emission can be ascribed to carbon and deuterium. The composition of the carbon emission is compared with results obtained on JT-60 and DIII-D. Using the Braams-Eirene model of the detached divertor the influence of transport on the power losses is investigated. By means of a realistic radiative loss function we find that the enhancement of maximum power input into the divertor by non-coronal effects is not more than a factor of two.

Relaxation oscillations found in the divertor of the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak by means of spectroscopy and probe diagnostics are reported. They are observed in both electron density and temperature with frequencies in the range from 45 to 80 Hz. In the line emission they are detected in C III, but not in Dalpha light. Interpretation of the experimental data indicates that the relaxation oscillations are associated with periodic movements of the thermal front and the power loss zone against each other

Tungsten erosion in the ASDEX Upgrade divertor has been measured by observing the WI emission at 400.9 nm. The sputtering yield is in the region of atoms/ion for typical divertor plasma conditions. By comparison of the measured sputtering yield with modelled sputtering yields one can conclude that tungsten erosion is dominated by plasma impurities. Adding impurities without cooling the boundary plasma increases the sputtering yield due to the additional impact energy gained by the particle in the sheath potential caused by its higher net charge. Cooling the boundary plasma by adding more impurities or increasing the plasma density leads to a strong decrease in the tungsten erosion. By comparison of the tungsten influx with the measured net erosion the prompt redeposition was determined. The redeposited fraction of tungsten increases significantly with a higher divertor electron density as expected.

A combined visible and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) scanning spectrometer for the investigation of the boundary layer of ASDEX Upgrade has been developed. A rotating mirror is used for poloidal scanning. This mirror can be tilted perpendicular to its rotation axis, enabling observation in the toroidal direction too. The broad spectral range opens a variety of investigation possibilities. Here we present poloidal radiation profiles of different ion species in the VUV. Regions of special interest such as the divertor for target erosion studies and the upper boundary for the estimation of ion penetration depths were investigated with high spatial resolution. Additionally, the application of this instrument is shown for measuring the spatial distributions of impurities injected for radiation cooling.

In this paper we describe impurity line emission measurements in the divertor of ASDEX Upgrade during high power neutral beam heated discharges. We focus on detached conditions where the dominating part of the radiation comes from the X-point region. Spatially resolved line emission in the VUV and visible spectral region of the intrinsic carbon and additionally puffed impurities (neon and nitrogen) is presented. A simple interpretation of the line emission profiles is given and they are also compared to the results of bolometry.

The completely detached high confinement (CDH) regime established recently in high power ASDEX-Upgrade single null divertor discharges is described. The standard CDH mode scenario with feedback controlled external deuterium and neon puffing is analysed in detail with respect to its divertor detachment and confinement properties. Impurity transport and pumping effects and the density operation windows of the CDH mode are outlined. First results with other impurity radiators (N,Ar) are given. Finally the CDH mode operation space is discussed in terms of main chamber and scrape-off layer plus divertor radiation and possible consequences for future fusion experiments are outlined.

ASDEX Upgrade is a poloidal divertor experiment very similar to ITER with respect to magnetic field properties and especially to the plasma boundary geometry. A large part of the programme on ASDEX Upgrade is therefore dedicated to investigating and optimizing reactor-relevant plasma boundary issues. This contribution is concerned with H-mode studies and edge physics in general. The L/H-power threshold, H-mode confinement, details of ELM dynamic and 'dithering' L/H-transitions will be discussed. The edge physics investigations are concerned with model calculations and validations, the characteristic 'approach' to the density limit (DL), target plate sputtering and the influence of hydrocarbons, asymmetries and drifts depending on the direction of the toroidal magnetic field, and finally first results of high-Z material experiments.

Feedback-controlled puffing of neon and deuterium has been applied to control the edge-localized-mode behavior and the target plate power deposition during high-power H -mode discharges in ASDEX Upgrade. A regime has been found in which more than 90% of the heating power is lost through radiation and divertor detachment occurs, without deterioration of the energy confinement. The plasma remains in the H mode, exhibiting small-amplitude, high-frequency ELM's, which do not penetrate to the target plates in the strike zone region.

Densities achievable in ASDEX Upgrade discharges are restricted by a disruptive limit in the L-mode caused by an edge-power imbalance which is linking divertor detachment, Marfe formation and the separatrix density. The attainable average densities depend then on the internal particle sources and the core transport and can exceed the empirical Greenwald density. In H-mode an upper density limit is found which represents a non-disruptive H - L back transition, which is preceded by the occurrence of type-III ELMs. Close to the Greenwald limit this H - L transition cannot be avoided at any power flux across the separatrix and - at high external neutral gas fluxes - confinement compared with ITER H-92P scaling degrades even before the back transition. The H-mode operational window is determined by local edge-barrier parameters and their gradients, respectively. The boundaries are represented by the L - H transition-temperature threshold, the ideal ballooning edge-pressure gradient limit, the upper temperature limit for type-III ELMs and an upper H-mode barrier density limitation. The cause for the last limitation is not yet identified; it may be due to resistive ballooning modes or the separatrix density limit. Despite the limited edge densities the Greenwald density could be surpassed by a factor of three with pellet refuelling from the low magnetic-field side. Pellet injection from the high-field side gains from the strong increase of fuelling efficiency due to the assisting toroidal outward drift of the formed high- ablatant. Higher densities are achievable in H-mode compared with low-field side injection and diminished convective losses avoid confinement degradation up to the Greenwald density. In gas-puffed type-I ELMy H-modes the plasma thermal energy and the edge-pressure gradients, which are limited by ballooning stability, are linked via a robust temperature-profile stiffness and the flat density profiles resulting from dominant edge refuelling at high densities. Their confinement does not improve with increasing density (and neutral gas fluxes) and may even slightly degrade. Therefore, the superior confinement of type-I ELMy H-modes compared with type-III ELMy ones at medium densities is actually offset at densities close to the Greenwald density. In contrast to the temperature-profile resilience density profiles can be changed both by deep refuelling (with pellets) and intrinsic transport improvements connected with density peaking (observed in CDH-modes), which offers the combination of high confinement and high density operation. The possible alliance with radiation cooling, divertor detachment and divertor compatible type-III ELMs could solve the power exhaust problem.