- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine

Physical Review Letters

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Open Access

Turbulence-Driven Edge-Localized-Mode-Free High-Confinement Mode with Divertor Detachment in a Metal-Wall Tokamak

G. S. Xu1,*, G. F. Ding1, G. J. Zhang1,2, Y. F. Wang1, X. Jian1, T. Zhang1, Z. Q. Zhou1,2, K. Wu1, Q. Q. Yang1 et al.

R. Chen1, L. Yu1,2, L. Y. Meng1, L. Wang1, H. Q. Wang3, N. M. Li4, Z. Y. Lu1, K. D. Li1, S. Y. Ding3, N. Yan1, L. Q. Xu1, X. Lin1, B. Zhang1, J. P. Qian1, T. F. Zhou1, P. Li1, C. Zhou2, S. F Wang2, Q. Zang1, H. Q. Liu1, F. Ding1, L. Zhang1, Y. F. Jin1, Y. M. Duan1, Y. W. Yu1, R. Ding1, G. Q. Li1, X. Z. Gong1, K. Lu1, J. S. Hu1, Y. T. Song1, and B. N. Wan1,†

  • *Contact author: gsxu@ipp.ac.cn
  • †Contact author: bnwan@ipp.ac.cn
PDF

Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 125101 – Published 23 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/7r3f-dqft

Abstract

We report the first demonstration of a minute-scale, edge-localized-mode-free high-confinement plasma regime compatible with divertor partial detachment and enhanced pedestal performance in a metal-wall tokamak, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak. This regime is enabled by a newly identified mechanism: during divertor partial detachment, reduced ionization and enhanced pumping in a closed divertor lead to less cooling of the pedestal by recycling neutrals and seeding impurities, resulting in an increased pedestal temperature gradient, which excites high-frequency broadband turbulence. Gyrokinetic simulations identify the high-frequency broadband turbulence as a temperature-gradient-driven trapped electron mode (ηe-TEM), which drives outward transport of particles and heat, thereby maintaining the edge-localized-mode-free state. This pedestal regime is particularly promising for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, where the anticipated lower density gradient, reduced E×B shear, and lower collisionality in the pedestal will further facilitate ηe-TEM excitation. The achieved integrated scenario with a detached divertor and turbulence-dominated pedestal thus offers a compelling solution for managing heat loads and metal impurity sources for long-pulse high-performance operation in future fusion reactors.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

Supplemental Material

References (39)

  1. A. Loarte et al., Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 67, 065023 (2025).
  2. F. Reimold, M. Wischmeier, M. Bernert, S. Potzel, A. Kallenbach, H. W. Müller, B. Sieglin, and U. Stroth, Nucl. Fusion 55, 033004 (2015).
  3. D. Eldon et al., Nucl. Fusion 57, 066039 (2017).
  4. F. Wagner et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 49, 1408 (1982).
  5. A. W. Leonard, Phys. Plasmas 21, 090501 (2014).
  6. E. Viezzer, Nucl. Fusion 58, 115002 (2018).
  7. A. Kallenbach et al., Nucl. Fusion 61, 016002 (2021).
  8. M. Bernert et al., Nucl. Fusion 61, 024001 (2021).
  9. L. Wang et al., Nat. Commun. 12, 1365 (2021).
  10. D. G. Wu et al., Nucl. Fusion 64, 086042 (2024).
  11. S. Glöggler et al., Nucl. Fusion 59, 126031 (2019).
  12. B. G. Wang et al., Nucl. Fusion 65, 086004 (2025).
  13. P. Barabaschi et al., Fusion Eng. Des. 215, 114990 (2024).
  14. H. Q. Wang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 185004 (2014).
  15. G. S. Xu et al., Rev. Mod. Plasma Phys. 7, 14 (2023).
  16. J. Y. Kim and H. S. Han, Phys. Plasmas 24, 072501 (2017).
  17. C. Giroud et al., in Proceeding of the 30th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference, Chengdu, China, 2025 (IAEA, Vienna, 2025), paper IAEA-CN-316/2924, https://conferences.iaea.org/event/392/contributions/35673/attachments/19737/36117/Giroud_paper_EX_C_iaea2025_6.pdf.
  18. Y. R. Martin et al., J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 123, 012033 (2008).
  19. K. Wu et al., Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 63, 105004 (2021).
  20. M. F. Wu et al., J. Instrum. 15, P12009 (2020).
  21. G. S. Xu et al., Nucl. Fusion 60, 086001 (2020).
  22. G. S. Xu et al., Nucl. Fusion 61, 126070 (2021).
  23. K. Verhaegh et al., Nucl. Fusion 59, 126038 (2019).
  24. C. Zhou et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 84, 103511 (2013).
  25. P. B. Snyder, H. R. Wilson, J. R. Ferron, L. L. Lao, A. W. Leonard, T. H. Osborne, A. D. Turnbull, D. Mossessian, M. Murakami, and X. Q. Xu, Phys. Plasmas 9, 2037 (2002).
  26. X. Q. Xu, B. Dudson, P. B. Snyder, M. V. Umansky, and H. Wilson, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 175005 (2010).
  27. See Supplemental Material at http://link.aps.org/supplemental/10.1103/7r3f-dqft for setup and input profiles used for the GENE simulations, which includes Refs. [28–32].
  28. F. Jenko, W. Dorland, M. Kotschenreuther, and B. N. Rogers, Phys. Plasmas 7, 1904 (2000).
  29. T. Görler et al., J. Comput. Phys. 18, 230 (2011).
  30. H. John, T. S. Taylor, Y. R. Lin-Liu, and A. D. Turnbull, Transport simulation of negative magnetic shear discharges No. GA-A--21847; IAEA-CN--60/DD-II-8; CONF-940933--20 (General Atomics, San Diego, CA, USA, 1994).
  31. O. Sauter, C. Angioni, and Y. R. Lin-Liu, Phys. Plasmas 6, 2834 (1999).
  32. J. Candy, Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 51, 105009 (2009).
  33. K. D. Li et al., Nucl. Fusion 63, 026025 (2023).
  34. M. Kotschenreuther, D. R. Hatch, S. Mahajan, P. Valanju, L. Zheng, and X. Liu, Nucl. Fusion 57, 064001 (2017).
  35. D. R. Ernst et al., in Proceedings of the 27th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference, Gandhinagar, India, 2018 (IAEA, Vienna, 2018), paper IAEA-CN-258/EX/2-2, https://nucleus.iaea.org/sites/fusionportal/Shared%20Documents/FEC%202018/fec2018-preprints/preprint0580.pdf.
  36. G. S. Xu, Zenodo, 2026, 10.5281/zenodo.18697543.
  37. J. Candy, E. A. Belli, and R. V. Bravenec, Comput. Phys. 324, 73 (2016).
  38. Sun Hee Kim and Tom Casper, ITER-IO, File output from corsica integrated modeling code for running H-mode13 at 00400s on October 19, 2017, Associated EQDSK file name is G_HMODE13_ITER_MR_00400.TXT.
  39. P. B. Snyder, R.J. Groebner, J. W. Hughes, T. H. Osborne, M. Beurskens, A. W. Leonard, H. R. Wilson, and X.Q. Xu, Nucl. Fusion 51, 103016 (2011).

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 125101– Published 23 March, 2026
  • Received 31 October 2025
  • Revised 27 December 2025
  • Accepted 17 February 2026
Crossmark - Check for updates button
Creative Commons Logo

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation