Experimental exploration of profile control in the Princeton Beta Experiment-Modified (PBX-M) tokamak

Abstract

The experimental program of the Princeton Beta Experiment-Modified (PBX-M) tokamak [Phys. Fluids B2, 1271 (1990)] is directed toward tailoring plasma profiles to achieve greater stability and confinement and to gain access to the second stability region. Modification of the current density profile has been achieved with lower-hybrid current drive (LHCD), leading to a regime free of global magnetohydrodynamic modes, while raising the value of q(0) above unity. The diffusion of the fast electrons produced by LHCD has been examined using two-dimensional hard x-ray imaging. Ion Bernstein waves (IBW) have been used for ion heating: a preliminary analysis shows that ion heating was spatially localized and in agreement with theoretical calculations. Divertor biasing has modified the electric field inside the last closed surface, resulting in the formation of a transport barrier, which in turn has reduced the threshold power of neutral beam injection (NBI) for H-mode transition by 25%.