Spatial and temporal structure of edge-localized modes.
This Letter provides information on the spatial and temporal structure of periodic eruptions observed in magnetically confined laboratory fusion plasmas, called edge-localized modes (ELMs), and highlights similarities with solar eruptions. Taken together, the observations presented in this Letter provide strong evidence for ELMs being associated with a filamentlike structure. These filaments are extended along a field line, are generated on a 100 micros time scale, erupt from the outboard side, and connect back into the plasma. Such structures are predicted by a theoretical model based on the "ballooning" instability, developed for both solar and tokamak applications.
Kirk
A
A
EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3DB, United Kingdom.
Wilson
H R
HR
Counsell
G F
GF
Akers
R
R
Arends
E
E
Cowley
S C
SC
Dowling
J
J
Lloyd
B
B
Price
M
M
Walsh
M
M