Experimental observation of the blob-generation mechanism from interchange waves in a plasma.
The mechanism for blob generation in a toroidal magnetized plasma is investigated using time-resolved measurements of two-dimensional structures of electron density, temperature, and plasma potential. The blobs are observed to form from a radially elongated structure that is sheared off by the E x B flow. The structure is generated by an interchange wave that increases in amplitude and extends radially in response to a decrease of the radial pressure scale length. The dependence of the blob amplitude upon the pressure radial scale length is discussed.
Furno
I
I
Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas-Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Association EURATOM-Confédération Suisse, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Labit
B
B
Podestà
M
M
Fasoli
A
A
Müller
S H
SH
Poli
F M
FM
Ricci
P
P
Theiler
C
C
Brunner
S
S
Diallo
A
A
Graves
J
J