Sandwich structure of plasma edge during transition to improved confinement regime in L-2M stellarator

Abstract

Transitions to the regime with better confinement in the L-2M stellarator are presented. Transitions are indicated only at sufficiently high plasma densities, and for a given value of average density they appear only at higher heating powers. Each transition is easily identified by a sudden fast (<200 µs) small drop of total plasma energy fixed by diamagnetic measurements. After that plasma energy steeply regains its value and then slowly monotonically increases up to the end of the active heating phase (just as the line average plasma density ne). In the bulk of the plasma parameters evolve slowly. Drastic changes are observed in the region close to the plasma boundary where two moderate order rational magnetic surfaces are located with the rotational transform μ taking the values 2/3 and 3/4. Relative values of plasma parameters' fluctuations and their spectrum widths decrease significantly in this region. The region has a definite sandwich structure being subdivided by the above-named moderate order rational magnetic surfaces into three smaller zones with different plasma parameter dynamics. Transition is triggered by local disturbances of plasma parameters that are caused by instabilities in the vicinity of magnetic surfaces where μ is equal to 2/3 or 3/4. Different hypotheses on the nature of the phenomenon are discussed.