Electron density pedestal behaviour in strike-point sweeping experiment on JET

Abstract

Strike-point sweeping, a technique often used to spread heat loads on divertor targets, was employed in JET experiments for the first time to generate an edge-localized modulated particle source for investigating plasma fuelling and particle transport in the edge region. This approach was motivated by the possibility of achieving higher modulation frequencies than those available from traditional gas puff modulation at JET. Higher frequencies would enable the collection of more edge-localized information from the electron density response to the modulated particle source. Various sweeping frequencies, up to 18.5 Hz, were commissioned and utilized in the experiments. Both strong and weak electron density responses were observed in H-mode plasmas, depending on the strike-point configuration and the distance the strike-points moved during the sweep cycle. The electron density response exhibited complex and unconventional behaviour (compared to gas puff modulation), which presented challenges for interpretation. In this study, we analyse one experiment in detail using an optimization framework in which transport and particle source parameters are determined by fitting our forward model parameters to the experimental electron density measurements. We demonstrate that a consistent picture emerges and that our approach can provide new insights into these complex data. However, we note that while strike-point sweeping generates the desired modulated edge-localized particle source, it also modifies the properties of the edge transport barrier. Therefore, the strike-point sweeping methodology is a promising but challenging way to study edge particle transport and edge fuelling properties, requiring very precise measurements.