Hollow toroidal rotation profiles in strongly electron heated H-mode plasmas in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak

TL;DR

This study explores the formation of hollow toroidal rotation profiles in H-mode plasmas under strong electron cyclotron resonance heating in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak, emphasizing intrinsic torque and turbulence regime transitions.

Contribution

It demonstrates the role of intrinsic torque and turbulence changes in forming hollow rotation profiles under strong ECRH, supported by experimental and gyrokinetic simulation analysis.

Findings

Hollow rotation profiles form due to a balance between counter-current intrinsic torque and inward convection.

Strong ECRH causes a transition from ITG to ITG-TEM turbulence regime.

Pedestal-top density variations significantly influence rotation profiles.

Abstract

This work investigates toroidal momentum transport in type-I ELMy H-mode plasmas in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak, focusing on the formation of hollow rotation profiles under strong electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH). Applying the established momentum transport analysis framework to a neutral beam injection (NBI) modulation experiment, momentum transport coefficients were inferred self-consistently. This was done for phases with dominant NBI heating and with additional strong ECRH, during which the rotation profile severely collapsed without significant changes in the externally applied torque. The experimental rotation profiles were accurately reproduced, confirming the robustness of the inferred diffusive, convective, and residual-stress contributions. While the Prandtl number and inward Coriolis pinch remained comparable between phases, the NBI+ECRH phase exhibited a strong counter-current intrinsic torque. Linear gyrokinetic simulations indicate a transition from ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) turbulence to an ITG-trapped-electron-mode (TEM) mixed regime under strong ECRH, consistent with the observed counter-current intrinsic torque and particle pinch behavior. Additional high-ECRH discharges with modified density demonstrated that hollow rotation profiles emerge from a balance between counter-current intrinsic torque and inward convective momentum transport, strongly influenced by the pedestal-top rotation level, which is dominantly set by variations in the pedestal-top density. These findings highlight the importance of intrinsic torque and inward convection for maintaining favorable rotation profiles in future low-torque tokamak scenarios and motivate further exploration of edge torque generation mechanisms.