Spatial–Temporal Properties of Current-Convective Turbulence in Divertor Plasma under DIII-D-Like Detached Conditions

Abstract

Recent experimental observations of divertor plasma turbulence at the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak have demonstrated the onset of strong fluctuations of plasma radiation intensity in the near X-point region within the inner divertor leg, when the machine was operating with the pronounced asymmetry in detachment of plasma between the inner and outer divertors. As been recently shown, one of the possible mechanisms responsible for these fluctuations can be related to the current-convective instability (CCI). In this contribution, we assess whether the CCI can drive turbulence with spatial and temporal parameters similar to those observed lately in DIII-D experiments. It is demonstrated that the CCI drives saturated plasma fluctuations, dominated by low-frequency modes with toroidal wavelengths on the order of the machine circumference in the inner divertor region—features that are similar to turbulence characteristics found in experiments.