[Table of Contents]

Plasma and Fusion Research

Volume 2, S1002 (2007)

Regular Articles

New Insights to the Sawtooth Oscillation (“m/n = 1/1 mode”) in Hot Plasmas based on High Resolution 2-D Images of Te Fluctuations
H. K. PARK, N. C. LUHMANN Jr1), A. J. H. DONNÉ2), C. W. DOMIER1), T. MUNSAT3), M. J. Van de POL2) and TEXTOR Team4)
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A
1)
University of California at Davis, California, U.S.A
2)
FOM-Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen, Association EURATOM-FOM, P.O. Box 1207, 3430 BE Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
3)
University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.
4)
Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institut für Plasmaphysik, Association EURATOM-FZJ, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
(Received 5 December 2006 / Accepted 31 July 2007 / Published 20 November 2007)

Abstract

Two dimensional (2-D) images of electron temperature fluctuations with high temporal and spatial resolution have been employed to study the sawtooth oscillation (m/n = 1/1 mode) in Toroidal EXperiment for Technology Oriented Research (TEXTOR) tokamak plasmas. 2-D imaging data revealed new physics which were not available in previous studies based on the 1-D electron temperature measurement and X-ray tomography. Review of the physics of the sawtooth oscillation is given by comparative studies with prominent theoretical models suggest that a new physics paradigm is needed to describe the reconnection physics of the sawtooth oscillation. The new insights are: A pressure driven instability (not a ballooning mode) leads to the “X-point” reconnection process. The reconnection process is identified as a random 3-D local reconnection process with a helical structure. The reconnection time scale is similar for different types of sawtooth oscillation (“kink” and “tearing” type) and is significantly faster than the resistive time scale. Heat flow from the core to the outside of the inversion radius during the reconnection process is highly collective rather than stochastic.

Keywords

sawtooth, magnetic reconnection, electron cyclotron emission imaging

DOI: 10.1585/pfr.2.S1002

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This paper may be cited as follows:

H. K. PARK, N. C. LUHMANN Jr, A. J. H. DONNÉ, C. W. DOMIER, T. MUNSAT, M. J. Van de POL and TEXTOR Team, Plasma Fusion Res. 2, S1002 (2007).