Filamentary plasma eruptions and their control on the route to fusion energy

Christopher Ham*, Andrew Kirk, Stanislas Pamela, Howard Wilson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

The tokamak is the most advanced approach to fusion and is approaching operation under power-plant conditions, promising sustainable, low-emission, baseload power to the grid. As the heating power of a tokamak is increased above a threshold, the plasma suddenly bifurcates to a state of high confinement, creating a region of plasma with a large pressure gradient at its edge. This bifurcation results in a repetitive sequence of explosive filamentary plasma eruptions called edge-localized modes (ELMs). ELMs on next-step tokamaks, such as ITER, will likely cause excessive erosion to plasma-facing components and must be controlled. We present what is understood about how ELMs form, their filamentary nature and the mechanisms that transport heat and particles to the first wall of the tokamak. We also discuss methods to control ELMs, including magnetic perturbations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)159-167
Number of pages9
JournalNature Reviews Physics
Volume2
Issue number3
Early online date14 Feb 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2020

Cite this