Interplay of light and heavy impurities in a fusion plasma

Radiation from impurities eroded from the walls can lead to a broad spectrum of spectacular phenomena in fusion devices An example of such events are breathing oscillations observed in the large helical device (LHD), in long pulse discharges with a stainless steel divertor. They were characterized with oscillations of a period of a second in various plasma parameters. By optimizing magnetic geometry this operation mode, leading to a deteriorate plasma performance, can be avoided. Nonetheless it is of interest and practical importance to understand and firmly predict conditions for breathing phenomenon, in particular, in view of similar impurity environment in W-7 X stellarator. A qualitative explanation for breathing oscillations proposed earlier presumes that they arise due to non-linear synergetic interplay of diverse physical processes. A one-dimensional non-stationary model, describing the generation and transport of main, impurity particles and heat by including the radiation of high-Z (Fe) and low-Z (C and O) impurities is elaborated here. The calculations predict the appearance of oscillations in the relevant range of plasma parameters, reproduce well experimentally observed amplitudes and period of oscillations. It demonstrates that the smaller the fraction of the plasma interaction with a stainless steel surface, the higher the light impurity concentration needed to excite the breathing oscillations. This shows a way to avoid oscillations in future experiments.