ExB circulation at the tokamak divertor X point

Detailed measurements in two dimensions by probes and Thomson scattering reveal unexpected local electric potential and electron pressure (p(e)) maxima near the divertor X point in L-mode plasmas in the DIII-D tokamak [J. L. Luxon and L. G. Davis, Fusion Technol. 8, 441 (1985)]. The potential drives ExB circulation about the X point, thereby exchanging plasma between closed and open magnetic surfaces at rates that can be comparable to the total cross-separatrix transport. The potential is consistent with the classical parallel Ohm's law. A simple model is proposed to explain the pressure and potential hills in low power, nearly detached plasmas. Recent two-dimensional edge transport modeling with plasma drifts also shows X-point pressure and potential hills but by a different mechanism. These experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that low power tokamak plasmas can be far from poloidal uniformity in a boundary layer just inside the separatrix. Additional data, although preliminary and incomplete, suggest that ExB circulation across the separatrix might be a common feature of low confinement behavior. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.