Role of sheared E × B flow in self-organized, improved confinement states in magnetized plasmas

Abstract

A major scientific success story of magnetic fusion research in the past several decades has been the theoretical development and experimental testing of the process of turbulence decorrelation and stabilization by sheared E × B flow, which shows that E × B shear effects are ubiquitous in magnetized plasmas. This concept of turbulence decorrelation and stabilization has the universality needed to explain the H-mode edge transport barriers seen in limiter and divertor tokamaks, stellarators, and mirror machines; the broader edge transport barrier seen in VH-mode plasmas; and the core transport barriers formed in tokamaks. Similar effects are seen in linear devices. These examples of confinement improvement are of considerable physical interest; it is not often that a system self-organizes to reduce transport when an additional source of free energy is applied to it. The transport decrease associated with E × B velocity shear is also of great practical benefit to fusion research, since it contributed to substantially increased fusion yield in all DT magnetic fusion experiments conducted to date. The fundamental physics involved in transport reduction is the effect of E × B shear on the growth, radial extent, and phase correlation of turbulent eddies in the plasma. The same basic transport reduction process can be operational in various portions of the plasma because there are a number of ways to change the radial electric field Er. An important secondary theme in this area is the synergistic effect of E × B velocity shear and magnetic shear. Although the E × B velocity shear appears to have an effect on broader classes of microturbulence, magnetic shear can mitigate some potentially harmful effects of E × B velocity shear and facilitate turbulence stabilization. Our present understanding in this area is the result of a multi-decade, intertwined effort in theory, modeling, and diagnostic development combined with continuing experimental investigations. These experiments have clearly demonstrated that increased E × B shear causes reductions in turbulence and transport. The experimental results are generally consistent with the basic theoretical models although considerable work remains to be done before we have a fully predictive theory of transport in magnetized plasmas including E × B shear effects.