Role of transport versus fueling upon pedestal density
The edge pedestal is a vital component in achieving overall high confinement in a magnetic fusion device. Therefore, obtaining a physics understanding and predictive capability for the pedestal height and structure is a major goal of domestic and international fusion research. Great progress has been made in understanding the pressure limits imposed by MHD stability on pedestals in tokamaks. It is now clear, though, that the goal of predictive capability for the pedestal structure requires advances in the physics understanding of the separate structure of density and temperature profiles in the pedestal region. A key challenge is to understand the importance of particle sources in determining the density pedestal and project to burning plasma scenarios. Experiments on DIIID and archived data from C-Mod, DIII-D, and NSTX will be used to test how fueling, reduced recycling, and transport affect the density pedestal structure. The role of divertor geometry strongly affects ionization properties and thus its effect upon the pedestal structure will be investigated. US researchers involved in collaborative activities on international experiments and at university facilities may gather, analyze and contribute data to this research effort.