Kinetic effects in edge plasma: kinetic modeling for edge plasma and detached divertor

Detached divertor is considered a solution for the heat control in magnetic-confinement fusion reactors. Numerical simulations using the comprehensive divertor codes based on the plasma fluid modeling are indispensable for the design of the detached divertor in future reactors. Since the agreement in the results between detached-divertor experiments and simulations has been rather fair but not satisfactory, further improvement of the modeling is required. The kinetic effect is one of key issues for improving the modeling. Complete kinetic behaviors are able to be simulated by the kinetic modeling. In this paper at first, major kinetic effects in edge plasma and detached divertor are listed. One of the most powerful kinetic models, particle-in-cell (PIC) model, is described in detail. Several results of PIC simulations of edge-plasma kinetic natures are presented. Future works on PIC modeling and simulation for the deeper understanding of edge plasma and detached divertor are discussed. (paper)