Experimental studies of stability and beta limit in JET

Abstract

The paper presents results on the use of resonant field amplification for experimental probing of stability and beta-limits (beta is the ratio of the plasma pressure to the magnetic field pressure) in JET. It is found that an externally applied helical magnetic field is strongly enhanced when the plasma exceeds the ideal no-wall stability limit or approaches proximity to other marginally stable (i.e. current-driven) modes. This effect is known as the resonant field amplification (RFA) and was used for the systematic probing of stability in different advanced regimes on JET. The application of this technique on JET is discussed in the paper and the results of the RFA measurements are presented and related to the observed limitations in beta.