RESUMEN
Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equilibrium states with imposed axisymmetric boundary are computed in which a spontaneous bifurcation develops to produce an internal three-dimensional (3D) configuration with a helical structure in addition to the standard axisymmetric system. Equilibrium states with similar MHD energy levels are shown to develop very different geometric structures. The helical equilibrium states resemble saturated internal kink mode structures.
RESUMEN
A multiwire proportional x-ray (MPX) detector is used on the TCV tokamak (Tokamak à configuration variable) as a high spatial and temporal resolution soft x-ray emissivity imaging diagnostic. The MPX system consists of 64 vertically viewing channels and has been designed to complement the existing TCV soft x-ray tomography system by enhancing the spatial resolution. The MPX detector is suitable for the measurement of fast and localized phenomena and can be used, for instance, for the observation of magnetohydrodynamic activity, for the characterization of transport barriers or for an improved determination of the electron cyclotron heating power deposition profile. The MPX detector operates in continuous-current mode and measures the plasma soft x-ray emission in the 3-30 keV range with a radial resolution of about 5 mm-1% of plasma diameter--and a frequency bandwidth of 50 kHz. A detailed description of the MPX detector construction and the principle of its operation are given. The properties of the detector in photon-counting and continuous-current operation modes are studied. The implementation of the system on TCV and experimental results illustrating the potential of the diagnostic are also presented.
RESUMEN
Bulk plasma toroidal rotation is observed to invert spontaneously from counter to cocurrent direction in TCV (Tokamak à Configuration Variable) Ohmically heated discharges, in low confinement mode, without momentum input. The inversion occurs in high current discharges, when the plasma electron density exceeds a well-defined threshold. The transition between the two rotational regimes has been studied by means of density ramps. The results provide evidence of a change of the balance of nondiffusive momentum fluxes in the core of a plasma without an external drive.
RESUMEN
Clear evidence is reported for the first time of a rapid localized reduction of core electron energy diffusivity during the formation of an electron internal-transport barrier. The transition occurs rapidly (approximately = 3 ms), during a slow (approximately = 200 ms) self-inductive evolution of the magnetic shear. This crucial observation, and the correlation of the transition with the time and location of the magnetic shear reversal, lend support to models attributing the reduced transport to the local properties of a zero-shear region, in contrast to models predicting a gradual reduction due to a weak or negative shear.
RESUMEN
In the TCV tokamak, the m/n = 2/1 island is observed in low-density discharges with central electron-cyclotron current drive. The evolution of its width has two distinct growth phases, one of which can be linked to a "conventional" tearing mode driven unstable by the current profile and the other to a neoclassical tearing mode driven by a perturbation of the bootstrap current. The TCV results provide the first clear observation of such a destabilization mechanism and reconcile the theory of conventional and neoclassical tearing modes, which differ only in the dominant driving term.
