Cross-field plasma transport and main chamber recycling in diverted plasmas on Alcator C-Mod

Cross-field particle transport increases sharply with distance into the scrape-off layer and plays a dominant role in the ‘main-chamber recycling’ regime in Alcator C-Mod, a regime where most of the plasma particle efflux recycles on the main-chamber walls rather than flows into the divertor volume. This observation has potentially important implications for a reactor: Contrary to the ideal picture of divertor operation, a tightly baffled divertor may not offer control of the neutral density in the main chamber such that charge-exchange heat losses and sputtering of the main chamber walls can be reduced. The conditions that give rise to the ‘main-chamber recycling’ regime can be understood by considering plasma/neutral particle balance: When the flux-surface averaged neutral density exceeds a critical value, flows to the divertor can no longer compete with the ionization source and particle fluxes must increase with distance into the SOL. This critical neutral density condition can be recast into a critical cross-field plasma flux condition: particle fluxes must increase with distance into the SOL when the plasma flux crossing a given flux surface exceeds a critical value. Thus, the existence of the ‘main-chamber recycling’ regime is intrinsically tied to the level of anomalous cross-field particle transport. Direct measurement of the effective cross-field particle diffusivities (Deff) in a number of ohmic L-mode discharges indicates that Deff near the separatrix strongly increases as plasma collisionality increases. Convected heat fluxes correspondingly increase, implying that there exists a critical plasma density (~ collisionality) beyond which no steady-state plasma can be maintained, even in the absence of radiation.