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Levonorgestrel-only emergency contraception (EC) inhibits ovulation to prevent fertilization. Misconceptions regarding its mechanism of action contribute to low use in some settings. We aimed to review the mechanism of action of Levonorgestrel EC and assess the evidence for a postovulatory effect on viable pregnancy development in the exposed and subsequent cycles.We searched Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, clinicaltrials.gov, the Cochrane database, and the US FDA Adverse Event Reporting System. We included studies reporting on the effect of Levonorgestrel EC exposure on (1) ovulation, (2) conception, (3) implantation, (4) ectopic pregnancy, (5) pregnancy viability, and (6) fertility in subsequent cycles. Data were extracted and tabulated from included studies by two researchers. The results were analyzed and summarized in narrative form.We included 33 studies. Women exposed to Levonorgestrel EC at or after the LH (luteinizing hormone) surge had similar rates of inhibited ovulation (3 studies) and conception rates (2 studies) as controls. Nine out of ten studies found no difference in endometrial receptivity to implantation after exposure to Levonorgestrel EC compared to controls. The evidence for an association between Levonorgestrel EC and reduced fallopian tube motility or ectopic pregnancy was conflicting. We found no evidence of increased miscarriage or teratogenicity (3 studies) or disrupted menstrual cycle (3 studies) after Levonorgestrel EC exposure compared to controls.This review supports that Levonorgestrel EC taken after ovulation does not affect implantation and results in similar conception rates compared to placebo. There is no evidence that exposure to Levonorgestrel EC affects fetal development, miscarriage, stillbirth, or subsequent menstruations.

We present recent highlights from the most recent operation phases of Wendelstein 7-X, the most advanced stellarator in the world. Stable detachment with good particle exhaust, low impurity content, and energy confinement times exceeding 100 ms, have been maintained for tens of seconds. Pellet fueling allows for plasma phases with reduced ion-temperature-gradient turbulence, and during such phases, the overall confinement is so good (energy confinement times often exceeding 200 ms) that the attained density and temperature profiles would not have been possible in less optimized devices, since they would have had neoclassical transport losses exceeding the heating applied in W7-X. This provides proof that the reduction of neoclassical transport through magnetic field optimization is successful. W7-X plasmas generally show good impurity screening and high plasma purity, but there is evidence of longer impurity confinement times during turbulence-suppressed phases. This work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014-2018 and 2019-2020 under Grant Agreement No. 633053. Peer Reviewed Article signat per 497 autors/es: Thomas Sunn Pedersen1,2,∗ , I. Abramovic3, P. Agostinetti4, M. Agredano Torres1, S. Äkäslompolo1, J. Alcuson Belloso1, P. Aleynikov1, K. Aleynikova1, M. Alhashimi1, A. Ali1, N. Allen5, A. Alonso6, G. Anda7, T. Andreeva1, C. Angioni8, A. Arkhipov8, A. Arnold1, W. Asad8, E. Ascasibar6, M.-H. Aumeunier9, K. Avramidis10, E. Aymerich11, S.-G. Baek3, J. Bähner1, A. Baillod12, M. Balden1, M. Balden8, J. Baldzuhn1, S. Ballinger3, M. Banduch1, S. Bannmann1, A. Banon Navarro8, A. Bañon Navarro ´ 1, T. Barbui13, C. Beidler1, C. Belafdil9, A. Bencze7, A. Benndorf1, M. Beurskens1, C. Biedermann1, O. Biletskyi14, B. Blackwell15, M. Blatzheim1, T. Bluhm1, D. Böckenhoff1, G. Bongiovi16, M. Borchardt1, D. Borodin17, J. Boscary8, H. Bosch1,18, T. Bosmann19, B. Böswirth8, L. Böttger1, A. Bottino8, S. Bozhenkov1, R. Brakel1, C. Brandt1, T. Bräuer1, H. Braune1, S. Brezinsek17, K. Brunner1, S. Buller1, R. Burhenn1, R. Bussiahn1, B. Buttenschön1, A. Buzás7, V. Bykov1, I. Calvo6, K. Camacho Mata1, I. Caminal20, B. Cannas11, A. Cappa6, A. Carls1, F. Carovani1, M. Carr21, D. Carralero6, B. Carvalho22, J. Casas20, D. Castano-Bardawil17, F. Castejon6, N. Chaudhary1, I. Chelis23, A. Chomiczewska24, J.W. Coenen13,17, M. Cole1, F. Cordella25, Y. Corre9, K. Crombe26, G. Cseh7, B. Csillag7, H. Damm1, C. Day10, M. de Baar27, E. De la Cal6, S. Degenkolbe1, A. Demby13, S. Denk3, C. Dhard1, A. Di Siena8,28, A. Dinklage12, T. Dittmar17, M. Dreval14, M. Drevlak1, P. Drewelow1, P. Drews17, D. Dunai7, E. Edlund3, F. Effenberg29, G. Ehrke1, M. Endler1, D.A. Ennis5, F.J. Escoto6, T. Estrada6, E. Fable8, N. Fahrenkamp1, A. Fanni11, J. Faustin1, J. Fellinger1, Y. Feng1, W. Figacz4, E. Flom13, O. Ford1, T. Fornal24, H. Frerichs13, S. Freundt1, G. Fuchert1, M. Fukuyama30, F. Füllenbach1, G. Gantenbein10, Y. Gao1, K. Garcia13, J.M. García Regaña6, I. García-Cortés6, J. Gaspar31, D.A. Gates29, J. Geiger1, B. Geiger13, L. Giudicotti32, A. González6, A. Goriaev26,33, D. Gradic1, M. Grahl1, J.P. Graves12, J. Green13, E. Grelier9, H. Greuner8, S. Groß1, H. Grote1, M. Groth34, M. Gruca24, O. Grulke1,35, M. Grün1, J. Guerrero Arnaiz1, S. Günter8, V. Haak1, M. Haas1, P. Hacker1, A. Hakola36, A. Hallenbert1, K. Hammond29, X. Han17,37, S.K. Hansen3, J.H. Harris38, H. Hartfuß1, D. Hartmann1, D. Hathiramani1, R. Hatzky8, J. Hawke39, S. Hegedus7, B. Hein8, B. Heinemann8, P. Helander12, S. Henneberg1, U. Hergenhahn8,40, C. Hidalgo6, F. Hindenlang8, M. Hirsch1, U. Höfel1, K.P. Hollfeld17, A. Holtz1, D. Hopf8, D. Höschen17, M. Houry9, J. Howard19, X. Huang41, M. Hubeny17, S. Hudson29, K. Ida9, Y. Igitkhanov10, V. Igochine8, S. Illy10, C. Ionita-Schrittwieser42, M. Isobe39, M. Jabłczynska ´ 24, S. Jablonski24, B. Jagielski1, M. Jakubowski1, A. Jansen van Vuuren1, J. Jelonnek10, F. Jenko8, F. Jenko8, T. Jensen35, H. Jenzsch1, P. Junghanns8, J. Kaczmarczyk24, J. Kallmeyer1, U. Kamionka1, M. Kandler8, S. Kasilov43, Y. Kazakov26, D. Kennedy1, A. Kharwandikar1, M. Khokhlov1, C. Kiefer8, C. Killer1, A. Kirschner17, R. Kleiber1, T. Klinger12, S. Klose1, J. Knauer1, A. Knieps17, F. Köchl44, G. Kocsis7, Ya.I. Kolesnichenko45, A. Könies1, R. König1, J. Kontula34, P. Kornejew1, J. Koschinsky, M.M. Kozulia14, A. Krämer-Flecken17, R. Krampitz1, M. Krause1, N. Krawczyk24, T. Kremeyer1, L. Krier10, D.M. Kriete5, M. Krychowiak1, I. Ksiazek46, M. Kubkowska24, M. Kuczynski1, G. Kühner1, A. Kumar15, T. Kurki-Suonio34, S. Kwak1, M. Landreman47, P.T. Lang8, A. Langenberg1, H.P. Laqua12, H. Laqua1, R. Laube1, S. Lazerson1, M. Lewerentz1, C. Li17, Y. Liang17, Ch. Linsmeier17, J. Lion1, A. Litnovsky17,48, S. Liu37, J. Lobsien1, J. Loizu12, J. Lore38, A. Lorenz1, U. Losada6, F. Louche26, R. Lunsford29, V. Lutsenko45, M. Machielsen12, F. Mackel8, J. Maisano-Brown3, O. Maj8, D. Makowski49, G. Manduchi50, E. Maragkoudakis6, O. Marchuk17, S. Marsen1, E. Martines4, J. Martinez-Fernandez6, M. Marushchenko1, S. Masuzaki41, D. Maurer5, M. Mayer8, K.J. McCarthy6, O. Mccormack4, P. McNeely1, H. Meister8, B. Mendelevitch8, S. Mendes1, A. Merlo1, A. Messian26, A. Mielczarek49, O. Mishchenko1, B. Missal1, R. Mitteau9, V.E. Moiseenko14, A. Mollen1, V. Moncada9, T. Mönnich1, T. Morisaki41, D. Moseev1, G. Motojima41, S. Mulas6, M. Mulsow1, M. Nagel1, D. Naujoks1, V. Naulin35, T. Neelis19, H. Neilson29, R. Neu8, O. Neubauer17, U. Neuner1, D. Nicolai17, S.K. Nielsen35, H. Niemann1, T. Nishiza1, T. Nishizawa1, T. Nishizawa8, C. Nührenberg1, R. Ochoukov8, J. Oelmann17, G. Offermanns17 K. Ogawa41, S. Okamura41, J. Ölmanns17, J. Ongena26, J. Oosterbeek1, M. Otte1, N. Pablant29, N. Panadero Alvarez6, N. Panadero Alvarez6, A. Pandey1, E. Pasch1, R. Pavlichenko14, A. Pavone1, E. Pawelec46, G. Pechstein1, G. Pelka24, V. Perseo1, B. Peterson41, D. Pilopp1, S. Pingel1, F. Pisano11, B. Plöckl8, G. Plunk1, P. Pölöskei1, B. Pompe2, A. Popov51, M. Porkolab3, J. Proll19, M.J. Pueschel19,27, M.-E. Puiatti52, A. Puig Sitjes1, F. Purps1, K. Rahbarnia1, M. Rasinski ´ 17, J. Rasmussen35, A. Reiman29, F. Reimold1, M. Reisner8, D. Reiter17, M. Richou9, R. Riedl8, J. Riemann1, K. Riße1, G. Roberg-Clark1, V. Rohde8, J. Romazanov17, D. Rondeshagen1, P. Rong1, L. Rudischhauser1, T. Rummel1, K. Rummel1, A. Runov1, N. Rust1, L. Ryc24, P. Salembier20, M. Salewski35, E. Sanchez6, S. Satake41, G. Satheeswaran17, J. Schacht1, E. Scharff1, F. Schauer8, J. Schilling1, G. Schlisio1, K. Schmid8, J. Schmitt5, O. Schmitz13, W. Schneider1, M. Schneider1, P. Schneider8, R. Schrittwieser42, T. Schröder1, M. Schröder1, R. Schroeder1, B. Schweer26, D. Schwörer1, E. Scott1, E. Scott8, B. Shanahan1, G. Sias11, P. Sichta29, M. Singer1, P. Sinha29, S. Sipliä34, C. Slaby1, M. Sleczka53, H. Smith1, J. Smoniewski54, E. Sonnendrücker8, M. Spolaore4, A. Spring1, R. Stadler8, D. Stanczak24, T. Stange1, I. Stepanov26, L. Stephey13, J. Stober8, U. Stroth8,55, E. Strumberger8, C. Suzuki41, Y. Suzuki41, J. Svensson1, T. Szabolics7, T. Szepesi7, M. Szücs7, F.L. Tabares6, N. Tamura41, A. Tancetti35, C. Tantos10, J. Terry3, H. Thienpondt6, H. Thomsen1, M. Thumm10, J.M. Travere9, P. Traverso5, J. Tretter8, E. Trier8, H. Trimino Mora1, T. Tsujimura41, Y. Turkin1, A. Tykhyi45, B. Unterberg17, P. van Eeten1, B.Ph. van Milligen6, M. van Schoor26, L. Vano1, S. Varoutis10, M. Vecsei7, L. Vela56, J.L. Velasco6, M. Vervier17, N. Vianello50, H. Viebke1, R. Vilbrandt1, G. Vogel8, N. Vogt1, C. Volkhausen1, A. von Stechow1, F. Wagner1, E. Wang17, H. Wang57, F. Warmer1, T. Wauters26, L. Wegener1, T. Wegner1, G. Weir1, U. Wenzel1, A. White3, F. Wilde1, F. Wilms1, T. Windisch1, M. Winkler1, A. Winter1, V. Winters1, R. Wolf118, A.M. Wright29, G.A. Wurden39, P. Xanthopoulos1, S. Xu17, H. Yamada58, H. Yamaguchi41, M. Yokoyama41, M. Yoshinuma41, Q. Yu8, M. Zamanov14, M. Zanini1, M. Zarnstorff29, D. Zhang1, S. Zhou17, J. Zhu1, C. Zhu29, M. Zilker8, A. Zocco1, H. Zohm8, S. Zoletnik7 and L. Zsuga7 // 1 Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching and Greifswald, Germany: 2 University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany; 3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of America; 4 Consorzio RFX, Corso Stati Uniti, 4-35127 Padova, Italy; 5 Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, United States of America; 6 CIEMAT, Avenida Complutense, 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain; 7 Center for Energy Research, Konkoly-Thegeut 29-33, 1121 Budapest, Hungary; 8 Max-Planck-Institute for Plasma Physics, Boltzmannstraße 2, 85748 Garching bei München, Germany; 9 CEA Cadarache, 13115 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France; 10 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany; 11 University of Cagliari, Via Universita, 40, 09124 Cagliari, Italy; 12 École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Swiss Plasma Center, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; 13 University of Wisconsin–Madison, Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706, United States of America; 14 Institute of Plasma Physics, National Science Center ‘Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology’, Kharkiv, Ukraine; 15 The Australian National University, Acton ACT 2601, Canberra, Australia; 16 Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Edificio 6, Palermo, 90128, Italy; 17 Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institut für Energie-und Klimaforschung—Plasmaphysik, 52425 Jülich, Germany; 18 Technical University of Berlin, Strasse des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany; 19 Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, Netherlands; 20 Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. BarcelonaTech, C. Jordi Girona, 31, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; 21 Culham Center for Fusion Energy, Abingdon OX14 3EB, United Kingdom; 22 Instituto de Plasmas e Fusao Nuclear, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal; 23 Department of Physics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece; 24 Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, 23 Hery Str., 01-497 Warsaw, Poland; 25 ENEA—Centro Ricerche Frascati, Via Enrico Fermi, 45, 00044 Frascati RM, Italy; 26 Laboratory for Plasma Physics, LPP-ERM/KMS, TEC Partner, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium; 27 Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research, PO Box 6336, 5600 HH Eindhoven, Netherlands; 28 University of Texas, Austin, TX, United States of America; 29 Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08543, United States of America; 30 Kyushu University, 744 Motooka Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan; 31 Aix-Marseille University, Jardin du Pharo, 58 Boulevard Charles Livon, 13007, Marseille, France; 32 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Padova University, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy; 33 Department of Applied Physics, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41 B4, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; 34 Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland; 35 Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, Anker Engelunds Vej, 2800 Kgs Lyngby, Denmark; 36 VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd., PO Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT, Finland; 37 Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 230031 Hefei, Anhui, China; 38 Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Rd, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, United States of America; 39 Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM 87545, United States of America; 40 Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, 14195 Berlin, Germany; 41 National Institute for Fusion Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi-cho, Toki, Gifu Prefecture 509-5292, Japan; 42 Institute for Ion Physics and Applied Physics, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; 43 Graz University of Technology, Rechbauerstraße 12, 8010 GRAZ, Austria; 44 Austrian Academy of Science, Doktor-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz 2, 1010 Wien, Austria; 45 Institute for Nuclear Research, prospekt Nauky 47, Kyiv 03028, Ukraine; 46 University of Opole, plac Kopernika 11a, 45-001 Opole, Poland; 47 University of Maryland, Paint Branch Drive, College Park, MA 20742, United States of America; 48 National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, 115409 Moscow, Russian Federation; 49 Department of Microelectronics and Computer Science, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 221/223, 90-924 Lodz, Poland; 50 Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 7, 00185 Roma, Italy; 51 Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 26 Politekhnicheskaya, St Petersburg 194021, Russian Federation; 52 Istituto di Fisica del Plasma Piero Caldirola, Via Roberto Cozzi, 53, 20125 Milano, Italy; 53 University of Szczecin, 70-453, aleja Papieza Jana Pawła II 22A, Szczecin, Poland; 54 Lawrence University, 711 E Boldt Way, Appleton, WI 54911, United States of America; 55 Physik-Department E28, Technische Universität München, 85747 Garching, Germany; 56 Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Av. de la Universidad, 30 Madrid, Spain; 57 Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, United States of America; 58 University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chhiab 277-0882, Japan Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::7 - Energia Assequible i No Contaminant Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::7 - Energia Assequible i No Contaminant::7.a - Per a 2030, augmentar la cooperació internacional per tal de facilitar l’accés a la investigació i a les tecnolo­gies energètiques no contaminants, incloses les fonts d’energia renovables, l’eficiència energètica i les tecnologies de combustibles fòssils avançades i menys contaminants, i promoure la inversió en infraestructures energètiques i tecnologies d’energia no contaminant

To facilitate the estimation of heat loads on plasma-facing components in fusion devices in various different magnetic geometries, a heat load proxy model was developed based on anisotropic diffusion. In this work, this model is compared to the so-called field-line diffusion approach. To facilitate the evaluation of these models, a novel synthetic camera-based approach for obtaining heat load distributions from Monte Carlo samples was also developed and implemented. With the assistance of this synthetic camera, heat load predictions for the Wendelstein 7-X divertor were obtained and compared with infrared camera observations. It was found that the anisotropic diffusion-based model achieved a closer match to infrared camera observations, while still being suitable in computational effort for large magnetic configuration database scans.

During its second operational campaign (OP 1.2a) W7-X operated with an edge island divertor. Much higher densities (1020m−3) than in to the previous, limiter campaign were achieved. In order to asses this improved performance and the nature of transport with regard to the expected higher densities and other parameters such as the electron and ion temperature, the electric field and plasma flow, measurements at the plasma edge were conducted with reciprocating probe, mounted on a Manipulator. The probe contains a set of Langmuir pins, Mach probes, compensation coils and a set of 3D pick up coils for the measurement of the local magnetic field and fluctuations, and an ion sensitive probe. It has been observed, in addition to differences due to the magnetic configurations, that the magnetic topology is sensitive to the plasma conditions, especially to changes due to a evolving toroidal plasma current. Measurements from divertor cameras showed that an increasing toroidal current in the standard configuration broadened the heat flux and shifted the strike line considerably. These down-stream observation can be complemented with the measurements at the mid-plane with the manipulator mounted probes. During the experiments the edge island remnant was identified with the measured edge plasma profiles and compared with the predictions from the field line tracing code. Those electron densities and temperatures have been used as an input for understanding edge transport with the EMC3-EIRENE modeling. The results from EMC3-EIRENE also help improve the caculated density profiles, since the modelling provides a profile of the effective charge Zeff. Keywords: W7-X, Langmuir probes, Magnetic islands, Plasma edge transport

The optimized superconducting stellarator device Wendelstein 7-X (with major radius , minor radius , and plasma volume) restarted operation after the assembly of a graphite heat shield and 10 inertially cooled island divertor modules. This paper reports on the results from the first high-performance plasma operation. Glow discharge conditioning and ECRH conditioning discharges in helium turned out to be important for density and edge radiation control. Plasma densities of with central electron temperatures were routinely achieved with hydrogen gas fueling, frequently terminated by a radiative collapse. In a first stage, plasma densities up to were reached with hydrogen pellet injection and helium gas fueling. Here, the ions are indirectly heated, and at a central density of a temperature of with was transiently accomplished, which corresponds to with a peak diamagnetic energy of and volume-averaged normalized plasma pressure . The routine access to high plasma densities was opened with boronization of the first wall. After boronization, the oxygen impurity content was reduced by a factor of 10, the carbon impurity content by a factor of 5. The reduced (edge) plasma radiation level gives routinely access to higher densities without radiation collapse, e.g. well above line integrated density and central temperatures at moderate ECRH power. Both X2 and O2 mode ECRH schemes were successfully applied. Core turbulence was measured with a phase contrast imaging diagnostic and suppression of turbulence during pellet injection was observed.

Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), the largest advanced stellarator, is built to demonstrate high power, high performance quasi-continuous operation. Therefore, in the recent campaign, experiments were performed to prepare for long pulse operation, addressing three critical issues: the development of stable detachment, control of the heat and particle exhaust, and the impact of leading edges on plasma performance. The heat and particle exhaust in W7-X is realized with the help of an island divertor, which utilizes large magnetic islands at the plasma boundary. This concept shows very efficient heat flux spreading and favourable scaling with input power. Experiments performed to overload leading edges showed that the island divertor yields good impurity screening. A highlight of the recent campaign was a robust detachment scenario, which allowed reducing power loads even by a factor of ten. At the same time, neutral pressures at the pumping gap entrance yielded the particle removal rate close to the values required for stable density control in steady-state operation.

The fundamental behavior of the W7-X island divertor under detached conditions, which has been theoretically predicted with the EMC3-Eirene code, is re-examined here under the experimental conditions achieved so far and compared with the first experimental results. Both simulations and experiments cover a range of divertor configurations and plasma parameters, and show the following common trends: (1) with rising impurity radiation, the target heat load decreases ‘uniformly’ over the entire target surface in the sense that both the peak and average heat loads can drop by an order of magnitude. Impurity radiation (mainly from intrinsic carbon) occurs primarily at the plasma edge and the resulting negative impact on the stored energy is less than 10%. (2) When the total radiation exceeds a critical level, the target particle flux (the recycling flux Γrecy) begins to fall and can drop by a factor of 3–5 at high radiation levels without an obvious indication of significant volume recombination. (3) While Γrecy decreases, the divertor neutral pressure continues to build up and reaches a maximum, at which point Γrecy has declined significantly. (4) During detachment, the electron temperature at the last closed flux surface falls in a way that is not quantitatively understandable from parallel classical heat conduction processes. This paper presents a physical explanation of the numerical/experimental results described above. Furthermore, using the EMC3-Eirene code as a diagnostic tool, we are able, apparently for the first time, to provide a full quantitative analysis of each transport channel in the island divertor, aiming to clarify how the island divertor plasma self-regulates to maintain particle, energy, and momentum balance under detached conditions.

The operational regimes in the first divertor campaign of W7-X were limited by unexpectedly high heat loads on certain baffle tiles. In the high-mirror configuration, a permanent hotspot on the baffle plate was detected by the thermographic system, which was further confirmed during the post-campaign inspections of the plasma-facing components. The maximum heat load on three baffle tiles reached about 4.5 MW m−2, which is almost an order of magnitude above its designed value of 0.5 MW m−2. The paper presents a detailed analysis to understand how the baffle plate, which is originally designed to screen the recycling neutrals and is therefore hidden from the hot plasma, can receive such a high heat load – a level that is expected for target plates. Three main causes have been identified: 1) the three baffle tiles are radially only about 5 mm away from a main heat channel towards a target, which is much shorter than the radial power decay length of several centimeters derived from the thermographic measurements in this region; 2) the three baffle tiles are intersected with field-lines of about 30 m length, which are long enough to collect considerable amount of heat via cross-field transport; 3) the baffle tiles have locally large grazing angles. In addition, the analysis method shown in this paper is of general use to estimate the heat flows in shadow areas of targets and thus to evaluate heat loads on the potentially critical components occurring in these areas, especially required for the design of complex 3D divertors like the one in W7-X.

Within the framework of R&D activities on the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) stellarator machine, the assessment of heat loads onto the plasma facing components (PFCs) is an important aspect. So far, W7-X was operated in short pulses without water cooling of the PFCs. Presently, the device is being prepared for future operation phases with water cooling. The target plates, which receive the highest heat loads, are monitored by a thermography system. The rest of the first wall (heat shield) is not designed to receive convective particle loads, and it is in part poorly monitored by the infrared cameras. Recent studies have shown that for many plasma configurations there are locations on the heat shield which do receive significant convective heat flux. This is in particular true for the heat shields adjacent to the target plates (called baffles) and for configurations with finite plasma pressure, where the magnetic configuration is modified by plasma currents. On the other side, the heat flux limit to the baffle tiles had to be reduced from 0.50 to 0.25 MW/m2. In this work an evaluation of the heat flux to targets and baffles in plasma configurations with finite plasma pressure is presented. To this end, Field Line Diffusion (FLD) calculations have been performed to obtain the heat load pattern distributions for the considered magnetic configurations. The results have been assessed statistically to achieve a measure of certainty in the prediction of an overload in a certain location. The possibility of overloads onto the baffles due to plasma radiation has also been investigated. The results of the entire analysis show that local temperature monitoring by thermocouples in a rather limited number of locations will be sufficient to avoid heat flux overloads of the baffles and heat shields in all magnetic configurations considered.

While the low frequency part of the response of the Rogowski coils mounted in the stellarator Wendelstein 7-X has been calculated, the high frequency part is planned to be calibrated by means of an actively applied current. In a staged approach different conductors have been designed to be mounted inside the plasma vessel and an AC current of 1 kA is foreseen to be driven through them at frequencies up to 1 kHz to simulate the plasma current.

Observations on confinement in the first experimental campaign on the optimized Stellarator Wendelstein 7-X are summarized. In this phase W7-X was equipped with five inboard limiters only and thus the discharge length restricted to avoid local overheating. Stationary plasmas are limited to low densities

The control of rotational transform in Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) is key to both the island divertor operation and safety of plasma facing components. The island divenor concept in W7-X relies on an edge flux surface with rotational transform of t = 1 resonating with an intrinsic n/m = 5/5 resonance to form a five lobed island chain. This island chain intersects with divertor plates to give rise to the island divertor. Changes in the relative position of the rational surface and the divertor plates can result in changes in divenor performance, thus the control of the rotational transform is essential to operation of the W7-X device. During the first divertor campaign electromagnetic loads resulted in elastic deformations of the shaped modular stellarator coils. Such deformations made these coils more planar, reducing the vacuum rotational transform, subsequently shifting the t = 1 resonance outward. Unintended plasma wall interactions provided the first clear evidence of this effect during plasma operation. Flux surface measurements were utilized to estimate the correct level of current in the planar coils for correction of t, and found to be around similar to-100 A. Scans the planar coil current for iota correction were performed during plasma operation. These measurements suggest planar coil currents between -250 and similar to 0 A would place the strike lines at the designed distance from the pumping gaps. Divertor Langmuir and upstream probe measurements confirm these estimates along with measurements of divertor neutral gas pressure.

The paper presents experimental observations and simulations for the effects of toroidal plasma current on divertor power depositions on W7-X. With increasing toroidal current accompanying changes in the island geometry result in a sweep of the strike line and a redistribution of the heat flux footprints. Good agreement between experiments, which partly used electron cyclotron current drive to generate an additional toroidal current contribution, and modelling using field line tracing in vacuum magnetic fields including an ad-hoc toroidal current on the magnetic axis is found for both standard and low-iota magnetic configurations.

International audience; The Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) optimized stellarator fusion experiment,which went into operation in 2015, has been operating since 2017 with anun-cooled modular graphite divertor. This allowed first divertor physicsstudies to be performed at pulse energies up to 80 MJ, as opposed to 4MJ in the first operation phase, where five inboard limiters wereinstalled instead of a divertor. This, and a number of other upgrades tothe device capabilities, allowed extension into regimes of higher plasmadensity, heating power, and performance overall, e.g. setting a newstellarator world record triple product. The paper focuses on the firstphysics studies of how the island divertor works. The plasma heat loadsarrive to a very high degree on the divertor plates, with only minorheat loads seen on other components, in particular baffle structuresbuilt in to aid neutral compression. The strike line shapes andlocations change significantly from one magnetic configuration toanother, in very much the same way that codes had predicted they would.Strike-line widths are as large as 10 cm, and the wetted areas alsolarge, up to about 1.5 m2, which bodes well for futureoperation phases. Peak local heat loads onto the divertor were ingeneral benign and project below the 10 MW m?2 limit of thefuture water-cooled divertor when operated with 10 MW of heating power,with the exception of low-density attached operation in the high-iotaconfiguration. The most notable result was the complete (in all 10divertor units) heat-flux detachment obtained at high-density operationin hydrogen.

Plasma filaments have been observed by reciprocating electric probes in the Scrape-Off Layer (SOL) of the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator. Comparison with target probes indicates that a filament observed in the W7-X SOL extends to the sheath. Two-dimensional simulations of seeded filaments exhibit good quantitative agreement with experimental measurements in filament velocity scalings, despite an assumption of constant field line curvature. Both experiment and simulation show a slow radial propagation of filaments, indicating that filaments are essentially bound to their flux surface and do not perform ballistic radial motion. In contrast, the poloidal propagation along flux surfaces is much faster than the radial motion.

Wendelstein 7-X (W7‐X) is the world’s largest superconducting nuclear fusion experiment of the optimized stellarator type. In the first Operation Phase (OP1.1) helium and hydrogen plasmas were studied in limiter configuration. The heating energy was limited to 4 MJ and the main purpose of that campaign was the integral commissioning of the machine and diagnostics, which was achieved very successfully. Already from the beginning a comprehensive set of diagnostics was available to study the plasma. On the path towards high-power, high-performance plasmas, W7‐X will be stepwise upgraded from an inertially cooled (OP1.2, limited to 80 MJ) to an actively cooled island divertor (OP2, 10 MW steady-state plasma operation). The machine is prepared for OP1.2 with 10 inertially cooled divertor units, and the experimental campaign has started recently. The paper describes a subset of diagnostics which will be available for OP1.2 to study the plasma edge, divertor and scrape-off layer physics including those already available for OP1.1, plus modifications, upgrades and new systems. The focus of this summary will be on technical and engineering aspects, like feasibility and assembly but also on reliability, thermal loads and shielding against magnetic fields.

The magnetic diagnostics foreseen for the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) stellarator are diamagnetic loops to measure the plasma energy, Rogowski coils to measure the toroidal plasma current, saddle coils to measure the Pfirsch–Schluter currents, segmented Rogowski coils (poloidal magnetic field probes) to add information on the distribution of the plasma current density, and Mirnov coils to observe magnetohydrodynamic modes. All these magnetic field sensors were designed as classical pick-up coils, after the time integration of induced signals for 1/2 hour had been successfully demonstrated. The long-pulse operation planned for W7-X causes nevertheless significant challenges to the design of these diagnostics, in particular for the components located inside the plasma vessel, which may be exposed to high levels of microwave (electron cyclotron resonance) stray radiation and thermal radiation. This article focuses on the tests and modelling performed during the development of the magnetic diagnostics and on the design solutions adopted to meet the conflicting requirements. All pick-up coils foreseen for the initial operation phase of W7-X and their signal cable sections inside the plasma vessel and the cryostat are now installed, and their electronics and data acquisition are under preparation.

Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) is a modular advanced stellarator with a magnetic field optimized for good plasma confinement and stability, which went into operation in December 2015 at the Max-Planck-Institut fur Plasmaphysik in Greifswald, Germany. The magnet system of W7-X consists of 70 superconducting coils with as-built-shapes and positions which deviate from the designed ones due to manufacturing and positioning tolerances as well as due to deformations under different kinds of loads. Step-by-step evaluation of the magnet system geometry during the machine construction included measurements of the winding pack geometry characterizing deviations of each coil filament caused by the fabrication process and the tracking of coil positions during main assembly steps. In addition finite element calculations were performed with help of the 360° ANSYS Global Model (a finite element model, representing the whole W7-X magnet system, including all superconducting coils and their support structure) in order to define possible coil deformations under the dead-weight, cool-down and electromagnetic loads in different operation regimes. This paper shows the comparative analysis of different types of deviations in the coil geometry and discusses their influence on plasma equilibrium properties.

Classical particle drifts are known to have substantial impacts on fluxes of particles and heat through the edge plasmas in both tokamaks and stellarators. Here we present results from the first dedicated investigation of drift effects in the W7-X stellarator. By comparing similar plasma discharges conducted with a forward- and reverse-directed magnetic field, the impacts of drifts could be isolated through the observation of up-down asymmetries in flux profiles on the divertor targets. In low-density plasmas, the radial locations of the strike lines (i.e. peaks in the target heat flux profiles) exhibited discrepancies of up to 3 cm that reversed upon magnetic field reversal. In addition, asymmetric heat loads were observed in regions of the target that are shadowed by other targets from parallel flux from the core plasma. A comparison of these asymmetric features with the footprints of key topological regions of the edge magnetic field on the divertor suggests that the main driver of the asymmetries at low density is poloidal E × B drift due to radial electric fields in the scrape-off layer and private flux region. In higher-density plasmas, upper and lower targets collected non-ambipolar currents with opposite signs that also inverted upon field reversal. Overall, in these experiments, almost all up-down asymmetry could be attributed to the field reversal and, therefore, field-dependent drifts.

Mirnov coils are used to measure fluctuations of the magnetic field which are in particular generated by magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modes. The underlying plasma currents have a multipolar structure in a poloidal cross-section. Therefore the amplitude of the magnetic fluctuations decays quickly with increasing distance from the plasma edge. It is hence important to place the Mirnov coils as close to the plasma edge as possible where they are exposed to high thermal loads. Two types of Mirnov coils are proposed to be used in Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X). Type 1 (44 Mirnov coils) should be mounted on the plasma side of wall protection panels with a graphite cap to shield them from direct plasma exposure. Type 2 (137 Mirnov coils) will be located behind the tiles of the heat shields. An important issue concerning the design of these Mirnov coils is to verify their suitability for steady state operation from the thermal point of view. Both steady state and transient finite element thermal analyses were performed for the Mirnov coils under different conditions and with different designs. The paper presents detailed thermal analyses of the Mirnov coils.

The main heating system of W7-X will be a 10 MW, 140 GHz ECRH. It is expected that the non-absorbed ECRH power will be up to 1 MW. Multiple reflections of the ECRH beam result in a nearly isotropic radiation background. The non-absorbed ECRH power has to be considered as an additional thermal load of microwave stray radiation for all W7-X in-vessel components. Several in-vessel diagnostics, especially magnetic diagnostics, partly consist of microwave absorbing materials. The microwave stray radiation could damage these components or, by evaporation due to overheating, perturb the operation of W7-X. Usually these diagnostics are protected against direct plasma radiation and are thermally connected to actively cooled structures. Nevertheless, ECRH stray radiation can cause a critical temperature increase. We present examples of ECRH stray radiation protection by metallic housing. The use of such housing may be in conflict with vacuum compatibility and in particular for magnetic diagnostics, with the requirement to avoid eddy currents limiting the time resolution of magnetic measurements. Details are given on the protection against ECRH stray radiation as well as on thermal connection concepts. Acceptance tests are presented on full-scale mockups.

Qian Yang He Ji (QYHJ) is a traditional Chinese medicine composed of Digitalis purpurea, Uncaria gambir, Fructus tribuli terrestris, and Ligustrum lucidum. Here, we explored whether combining an antihypertensive angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) therapy with QYHJ can improve the arterial functionality of hypertensive patients. One hundred and eight hypertensive patients were randomized into 2 groups; 1 group (n = 53) was treated with ARB and the other group (n = 55) was treated with ARB combined with QYHJ. Each of the 2 groups included 3 subgroups (pure hypertension, hypertension with diabetes, and hypertension with coronary heart disease) and was further divided into patients with and without complications. The cardioankle vascular index and intima-media thickness and pulse pressure were the outcome evaluation parameter. Combined QYHJ and ARB treatment reduced the values of cardioankle vascular index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and pulse pressure to significantly lower levels than ARB treatment alone did in hypertension patients after 6 months of treatment. ARB improves hypertension, but a combined QYHJ treatment can additionally ameliorate the arterial functionality not only in solely hypertensive patients but also in hypertensive patients with diabetes and coronary heart disease complications. QYHJ coapplication might be a choice to further improve the arterial functionality during an ARB hypertension treatment.

Wendelstein 7-X, a superconducting optimized stellarator built in Greifswald/Germany, started its first plasmas with the last closed flux surface (LCFS) defined by 5 uncooled graphite limiters in December 2015. At the end of the 10 weeks long experimental campaign (OP1.1) more than 20 independent diagnostic systems were in operation, allowing detailed studies of many interesting plasma phenomena. For example, fast neutral gas manometers supported by video cameras (including one fast-frame camera with frame rates of tens of kHz) as well as visible cameras with different interference filters, with field of views covering all ten half-modules of the stellarator, discovered a MARFE-like radiation zone on the inboard side of machine module 4. This structure is presumably triggered by an inadvertent plasma-wall interaction in module 4 resulting in a high impurity influx that terminates some discharges by radiation cooling. The main plasma parameters achieved in OP1.1 exceeded predicted values in discharges of a length reaching 6 s. Although OP1.1 is characterized by short pulses, many of the diagnostics are already designed for quasi-steady state operation of 30 min discharges heated at 10 MW of ECRH. An overview of diagnostic performance for OP1.1 is given, including some highlights from the physics campaigns.

Objective Electrocorticography (ECoG), used as a neural recording modality for brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), potentially allows for field potentials to be recorded from the surface of the cerebral cortex for long durations without suffering the host-tissue reaction to the extent that it is common with intracortical microelectrodes. Though the stability of signals obtained from chronically implanted ECoG electrodes has begun receiving attention, to date little work has characterized the effects of long-term implantation of ECoG electrodes on underlying cortical tissue. Approach We implanted and recorded from a high-density ECoG electrode grid subdurally over cortical motor areas of a Rhesus macaque for 666 d. Main results Histological analysis revealed minimal damage to the cortex underneath the implant, though the grid itself was encapsulated in collagenous tissue. We observed macrophages and foreign body giant cells at the tissue-array interface, indicative of a stereotypical foreign body response. Despite this encapsulation, cortical modulation during reaching movements was observed more than 18 months post-implantation. Significance These results suggest that ECoG may provide a means by which stable chronic cortical recordings can be obtained with comparatively little tissue damage, facilitating the development of clinically viable BMI systems.

For W7-X a set of magnetic diagnostic coils is foreseen to assess plasma properties such as toroidal net current and energy content for real-time monitoring and also for equilibrium reconstruction. In addition to the set of full Rogowski-Coils, diamagnetic coils and saddle loops, a set of segmented Rogowski-Coils is envisaged to access profile information. The planned scheme of equilibrium reconstruction is described and the status of the analysis of the magnetic diagnostics is presented and its prospects are discussed. It is found that the plasma energy may be retrieved with good accuracy. However, the recovery of profile information shows limited accuracy based on the statistical analyses and modeling done so far (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Wendelstein 7-X, currently under construction at the Max-Planck-Institut fur Plasmaphysik in Greifswald, Germany, is a modular advanced stellarator, combining the modular coil concept with optimised properties of the plasma. The magnet system of the machine consists of 50 non-planar and 20 planar superconducting coils which are arranged in five identical modules, forming a toroidal five-fold symmetric system. The majority of operational magnetic configurations will have rotational transform ι /2 π = 1 at the boundary. Such configurations are very sensitive to symmetry breaking perturbations, which are the consequence of imprecisely manufactured coils or assembly errors. To date, all 70 coils have been fabricated, and the first two half-modules of the machine have been assembled. The comparative analysis of manufactured winding packs and estimates of the corresponding level of magnetic field perturbation are presented. The dependency of the error fields on the coil assembly sequence is considered, as well as the impact of the first assembly errors. The influence of different construction uncertainties is discussed, and measures to minimise the magnetic field perturbation are suggested.

In 12 sheep 21 total hip endoprosthesis were implanted, using a polyethylene acetabulum, which was provided with a continuous conique thread for implantation without cement. Out of 14 non luxated hips only 2 acetabula were loosened. After an implantation between 1 week and 18 months the remaining 12 sockets were macroscopically stable and were examined radiologically and histologically. After 3 months of increased osteogenesis a layer of collagenous tissue developed between implant and bone. In the loadbearing area this layer is from 50-80 microns thick and often the ridges of the thread are stabilised by a thin layer of fiber-cartilage, expanding around the implant with longer implantation. Bore-holes in the thread are filled with partially lamellous bone after 6 months. Though sometimes a considerable amount of polyethylene wear particles caused by the disadvantageous and small shape of the sheeparthroplasty was observed, none of the examined acetabula showed any signs of loosening.

Motional analysis of the spinal segments with an x-ray amplifyer and studies of mechanical stress in the spine at oarsmen show, that during the phase of driving through with the oars immersed, the direction of the resulting load in the spine is approximately vertical to the next vertebral body. While referring to the vertebral bodies the direction of the resulting load does not change essentially, the size of the load differs conspicuously during active motion. In rowing the quantity of stress in the spine is limited by the torque of the counterforce, the erector trunci. Using an exact and correct rowing technique the quality of stress is compatible with the physiologically axial stresspattern of the vertebral body and the intervertebral disque. The frequency of peakstress in active rowing may possible lead to early and augmented degenerative changes in the vertebral bodies. In 45 Austrian top oarsmen the spine was examined clinically and radiologically, 68% showed signs of a previous Scheuermann's disease, while degenerative changes of vertebral bodies were found in 48%. Comparing spinal damages in different sports used in the training of the examined oarsmen, only in bicycling a similar pathomechanical effect on the spine could be observed.

Firmly attached screw-in polyethylene acetabula which had been implanted for between 16 and 54 months were explanted after autopsies and subjected to macroscopic, radiologic and histologic examination. Metaplasias were seen around the threads and on the floor of the acetabulum. Their tendency to ossify represents an attempt at secondary stabilization. Due to the low stability of the polyethylene this causes increased wear on the floor of the acetabulum. The small defects in the polyethylene found in the threads, resembling damage done by mice, may be a sign of biodegradation. In view of the tissue reactions pointed out, the material stability of the polyethylene needs to be improved or implantation must be restricted to a very limited range of indications.

Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) is a large optimized stellarator (B=2.5T, V=30m3) aiming at demonstrating the reactor relevance of the optimized stellarators. In 2015 W7-X will begin its first operation phase (OP1.1) with five inertially cooled inboard limiters made of graphite. Assuming the heat loads can be spread out evenly between the limiters, 1 second discharges at 2 MW of ECRH heating power could be run in OP1.1. The expected plasma parameters will be sufficient to demonstrate the readiness of the installed diagnostics and even to run a first physics program. The diagnostics available for this first operation phase, including some special limiter diagnostics, and their capabilities are being presented. A shorter version of this contribution is due to be published in PoS at: 1st EPS conference on Plasma Diagnostics

The fluctuations in the edge plasma of magnetic fusion experiments play an important role in terms of anomalous energy and particle transport. Experiments on Wendelstein 7-AS (Renner H et al 1989 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 31 1579) were conducted to investigate the propagation of actively fed signals driven by electrical probes. The perspective of these investigations is an improved understanding of the turbulence and potentially a method to tailor the edge plasma turbulence. Two moveable poloidal probe arrays were used for the experiments, one located on the inboard side of the vessel and the other on the outboard side. A subset of probe tips was used for actively driving the plasma by different control signals, the remaining probes collected fluctuation data in the plasma boundary. With this set-up it was possible to investigate the signal propagation in the poloidal direction and also parallel to the magnetic field. Poloidally, we find a significant cross-correlation between active and passive probes. From analysis of the cross-coherency and phases of the signal with passive probe tips, a dominant influence of the background plasma rotation on the applied signals is observed. In the case of externally driven waves by several phase-locked active probes, the direction of the wave propagation with respect to the plasma rotation (co- or counter-rotating) is essential for an effective coupling to the turbulence. Also, the signal propagation parallel to the magnetic field depends on co- or counter-rotation with respect to the background plasma rotation. The parallel phase velocity was found to be compatible with the electron thermal velocity.

Edge-localized modes (ELMs) have been observed by diagnostic systems with high spatial and temporal resolution in the ASDEX and JET tokamaks. During the ELMs, substructures exist in the scrape-off layer (SOL) with sizes of 2?5?cm and lifetimes of the order of 20?50??s. Their poloidal?temporal evolution is directly observed, and the radial transport due to turbulent E ? B drift in these substructures is estimated. A comparison is made between 'normal' fluctuations between ELMs and these substructures in terms of poloidal size and velocity and related radial transport. The increased radial transport during ELMs is shown to be mainly due to these substructures. The observed fluctuation amplitudes and velocities of the substructures are found to be compatible with the model of radial transport by plasma 'blobs' and plasma potential gradients generated by the sheath boundary conditions. The transport due to turbulent radial E ? B flows is compared during and between ELMs, and the observation of ELM substructures in the main plasma SOL is put into context with the observation of substructures on the target plates.

Emissive electrostatic probes for the use in fusion experiments must be able to sustain significantly higher thermal loads than in low-temperature plasma experiments. Several types of probe design are discussed, the results from the use of such probes in the edge plasma of the Wendelstein 7-AS stellarator are presented and compared with the predictions of emissive and non-emissive probe models. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The magnetic configurations of the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) stellarator are sensitive to perturbations of the magnetic field resonant with ι`/2π = 1. Such perturbations can be caused by deviations of the current filament positions of the real coil system from the design due to the accuracy achievable during the manufacture of the coils and assembly of the magnet system. The sensitivity of the magnetic field to the different types of error has been investigated by introducing randomly distributed errors to the coil shapes and positions within the given tolerances. A statistical analysis of these error distributions was performed. This procedure will be used to assess the magnetic configuration of W7-X before the completion of each assembly step.

We present a method of beam emission spectroscopy (BES) using an atomic Li beam that is generated by means of laser blow-off for the investigation of electron density fluctuations in the edge and scrape-off layer plasmas of fusion devices. We discuss the operational limits of this technique and compare them to those of other atomic Li beam diagnostics. Furthermore, we apply this method to different Wendelstein 7-AS discharges and study the influence of the line integrated electron density and the direction of the main magnetic field on the fluctuations inside and outside the last closed flux surface, and especially on their movement. The information we obtain on the influence of the main magnetic field on the fluctuations gives some insight into the possible origin of certain features of their spatial structure.

Recently a new improved confinement regime was found in the Wendelstein 7-AS (W7-AS) stellarator (Renner H. et al 1989 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 31 1579). The discovery of this high density high confinement mode (HDH-mode) was facilitated by the installation of divertor modules. In this paper, measurements of short wavelength density fluctuations in the HDH-mode using collective scattering of infrared light are presented. These measurements will be contrasted to fluctuations during normal confinement operation (NC-mode). The autopower spectra of the measurements show a consistent increase of the fluctuation level associated with the transition from NC-?to HDH-mode. Correlation calculations on a 20??s timescale between magnetic and density fluctuations lead to the result that the fluctuations are correlated in NC-but not in HDH-mode. Finally, a comparative analysis between the enhanced D? H-mode (EDA H-mode) found in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak and the HDH-mode in W7-AS is carried out.

Stellarators have the intrinsic property of steady state operation. However, on present-day stellarators the pulse length is usually not only limited due to technical reasons, but also by physical problems. Lack of density control and a subsequent radiation collapse terminate the discharges quite often at high densities. To improve the control of the plasma-wall interaction, the island divertor concept was developed for optimized stellarators. To test this divertor concept on W7-AS, all limiters were removed and replaced by ten divertor modules. In subsequent divertor experiments a promising new plasma operational regime has been discovered which is termed 'high density H-mode' (HDH-mode). During the transition into that regime a clear reduction of ELM-like events and turbulent fluctuations is observed. The HDH-mode combines good energy confinement with very low impurity confinement resulting in low core radiation, but high edge-localized radiation. Consequently, stationary discharges at densities of typically 2 x 10 20 m -3 can be performed within the accessible pulse length of about 1 s. At densities above 3 x 10 20 m -3 a controlled transition from attached to partially detached plasmas is observed. The still edge-localized radiation reaches 90% of the heating power so that the power load onto the divertor target plates is further reduced. At a lower toroidal field of 0.9 T average β-values could be raised from earlier 2% to more than 3% in magnetic field configurations with rather smooth flux surfaces at the plasma boundary. The recently obtained results render excellent prospects for W7-X, the larger superconducting successor experiment of W7-AS.

In this paper measurements of short wavelength electron density fluctuations using collective scattering of infrared light are presented. The Wendelstein 7-AS (W7-AS) stellarator (Renner H et al 1989 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 31 1579) and the diagnostic are briefly described. A series of plasma discharges with reproducible confinement transitions was created by ramping up the plasma current. Utilizing the fact that the density fluctuation wavenumber κ is anisotropic in the directions parallel and perpendicular to the local magnetic field, the diagnostic can provide a radial profile of the turbulence during both normal and degraded confinement. The found profiles display an increase of core turbulence for the reduced confinement state. The results are discussed and compared to similar tokamak measurements.

At certain values of the edge rotational transform ιa, the confinement quality of plasmas in the Wendelstein 7-AS (W7-AS) stellarator is found to react very sensitively to small modifications of the edge rotational transform ιa. As ιa can be reproducibly changed either by external fields or by a small plasma current, these transitions offer a precise way to systematically analyse differences in plasma turbulence between bad and good confinement cases. This paper presents results of the study of electron density fluctuations associated with confinement changes. Wavenumber and frequency spectra and radial profiles are compared. A slow and reproducible transition is induced by a small plasma current and the sequence of events leading to bad confinement is investigated. The laser scattering core plasma density fluctuation measurements are complemented by edge beam emission spectroscopy results and magnetic fluctuation measurements with Mirnov coils. Clear correspondence between plasma fluctuations and confinement degradation is observed: the weight of larger structures increases, fluctuations increase in the plasma core, the poloidal flow velocity decreases and regions of mode-like activity move radially in the plasma. These changes occur gradually and controllably if the magnetic configuration is steered by a small plasma current.

In this article measurements of small scale electron density fluctuations in dithering high confinement~H!-mode plasmas obtained by collective scattering of infrared light are presented. A scan of the fluctuation wavenumber was made in a series of similar discharges in the Wendelstein 7-AS ~W7-AS! stellarator @H. Renner et al., Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 31, 1579 ~1989!#. The experimental setup and discharge properties are described. Ha-light observing an inner limiter was used to separate low confinement ~L!- and H-mode phases of the plasma; the separated density fluctuations are characterized. It was found that L- ~H-! mode fluctuations dominate at high ~low! frequencies, respectively, and that they possess well-defined and distinguishable scaling properties. Wavenumber spectra for L- and H-mode measurements are calculated and fitted by power-laws and exponential functions. The separated measurements can be fitted with the same exponents in L- and H-mode. Correlations between the density fluctuations, the H a-signal and magnetic fluctuations as measured by Mirnov coils were analyzed. Correlation calculations using 50 ms time windows ~several dithering periods! with time lag steps of 100 ms showed that all the fluctuating quantities are highly correlated and that the maximum correlation occurs for high frequency density fluctuations. Performing separate L- and H-mode correlations on a 20 ms time scale between magnetic and density fluctuations leads to the result that the minimum correlation time scale in L-mode is of order 100 ms, while no correlation exists for H-mode. © 2002 American Institute of Physics. @DOI: 10.1063/1.1481747#