Progress in pedestal and edge physics: Chapter 3 of the special issue: on the path to tokamak burning plasma operation

This paper describes the extensive progress that has been made in the understanding of tokamak pedestal physics since the 2007 publication of ‘Progress in the ITER Physics Basis’ (Ikeda 2007 Nucl. Fusion 47 E01–S500). It serves as Chapter 3 of the 2025 Nuclear Fusion Special Issue titled ‘On the Pat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: M.E. Fenstermacher (Chair, Pedestal and Edge Physics), L.R. Baylor, E. de la Luna, M.G. Dunne, G.T.A. Huijsmans, A. Kirk, F.M. Laggner, T.H. Osborne, C. Paz-Soldan, S. Saarelma, P.B. Snyder, E. Viezzer, M. Becoulet, K.H. Burrell, A. Cathey, X. Chen, M. Hoelzl, J.W. Hughes, R. Maingi, A.O. Nelson, H. Urano, E. Wolfrum, X.Q. Xu, A. Diallo, L. Frassinetti, S. Futatani, L. Gil, R. Groebner, T. Happel, S.H. Kim, J. King, B. Labit, P.T. Lang, Y.Q. Liu, Z.X. Liu, R. Lunsford, G.Y. Park, U. Sheikh, W. Suttrop, B. Vanovac, R.S. Wilcox, A. Wingen, T. Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:Nuclear Fusion
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/adb1f3
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850191906679554048
author M.E. Fenstermacher (Chair, Pedestal and Edge Physics)
L.R. Baylor
E. de la Luna
M.G. Dunne
G.T.A. Huijsmans
A. Kirk
F.M. Laggner
T.H. Osborne
C. Paz-Soldan
S. Saarelma
P.B. Snyder
E. Viezzer
M. Becoulet
K.H. Burrell
A. Cathey
X. Chen
M. Hoelzl
J.W. Hughes
R. Maingi
A.O. Nelson
H. Urano
E. Wolfrum
X.Q. Xu
A. Diallo
L. Frassinetti
S. Futatani
L. Gil
R. Groebner
T. Happel
S.H. Kim
J. King
B. Labit
P.T. Lang
Y.Q. Liu
Z.X. Liu
R. Lunsford
G.Y. Park
U. Sheikh
W. Suttrop
B. Vanovac
R.S. Wilcox
A. Wingen
T. Zhang
author_facet M.E. Fenstermacher (Chair, Pedestal and Edge Physics)
L.R. Baylor
E. de la Luna
M.G. Dunne
G.T.A. Huijsmans
A. Kirk
F.M. Laggner
T.H. Osborne
C. Paz-Soldan
S. Saarelma
P.B. Snyder
E. Viezzer
M. Becoulet
K.H. Burrell
A. Cathey
X. Chen
M. Hoelzl
J.W. Hughes
R. Maingi
A.O. Nelson
H. Urano
E. Wolfrum
X.Q. Xu
A. Diallo
L. Frassinetti
S. Futatani
L. Gil
R. Groebner
T. Happel
S.H. Kim
J. King
B. Labit
P.T. Lang
Y.Q. Liu
Z.X. Liu
R. Lunsford
G.Y. Park
U. Sheikh
W. Suttrop
B. Vanovac
R.S. Wilcox
A. Wingen
T. Zhang
author_sort M.E. Fenstermacher (Chair, Pedestal and Edge Physics)
collection DOAJ
description This paper describes the extensive progress that has been made in the understanding of tokamak pedestal physics since the 2007 publication of ‘Progress in the ITER Physics Basis’ (Ikeda 2007 Nucl. Fusion 47 E01–S500). It serves as Chapter 3 of the 2025 Nuclear Fusion Special Issue titled ‘On the Path to Tokamak Burning Plasma Operation’ (Campbell et al 2025 Nucl. Fusion ). This review was compiled by the pedestal and edge physics (PEP) community affiliated with the International Tokamak Physics Activity organization. It attempts to collect in one place citations to the majority of published literature on the pedestal physics topics that will be most important for the operation of a future power producing burning plasma tokamak. These include citations to publications describing the physics of the pedestal plasmas in many operating tokamaks worldwide and the pedestal physics projections for several near-term future devices including ITER. Descriptions of experimental results, interpretive modeling and predictive extrapolations are integrated together and comprehensive references are provided. This review is organized around four primary technical sections, viz.: pedestal structure, edge localized mode (ELM) characteristics, ELM control and regimes without large ELMs. Key results from many of the references are described briefly and set into the tokamak burning plasma power plant context. In addition, different perspectives on pedestal physics topics that are currently under debate within the community are also described, to provide guidance on needs for future research. Finally, attempts are made to describe conclusions from all of this progress consistent with discussions by the pedestal physics community at this time. The goal of this review is to provide a useful reference document for pedestal physics researchers going forward toward operation of a burning tokamak fusion plasma.
format Article
id doaj-art-d3f0c11b826a4b4a8d2f2959e6fde546
institution OA Journals
issn 0029-5515
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IOP Publishing
record_format Article
series Nuclear Fusion
spelling doaj-art-d3f0c11b826a4b4a8d2f2959e6fde5462025-08-20T02:14:44ZengIOP PublishingNuclear Fusion0029-55152025-01-0165505300110.1088/1741-4326/adb1f3Progress in pedestal and edge physics: Chapter 3 of the special issue: on the path to tokamak burning plasma operationM.E. Fenstermacher (Chair, Pedestal and Edge Physics)0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5635-7330L.R. Baylor1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0325-7771E. de la Luna2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5420-0126M.G. Dunne3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5259-9970G.T.A. Huijsmans4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1435-4892A. Kirk5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5746-6595F.M. Laggner6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1601-2973T.H. Osborne7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2641-4597C. Paz-Soldan8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5069-4934S. Saarelma9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6838-2194P.B. Snyder10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0613-4232E. Viezzer11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6419-6848M. Becoulet12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2721-2890K.H. Burrell13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2639-1228A. Cathey14https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7693-5556X. Chen15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8718-6877M. Hoelzl16https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7921-9176J.W. Hughes17https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4802-4944R. Maingi18https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1238-8121A.O. Nelson19https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9612-1936H. Urano20https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8740-8954E. Wolfrum21https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6645-6882X.Q. Xu22https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1838-9790A. Diallo23https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0706-060XL. Frassinetti24https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9546-4494S. Futatani25https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5742-5454L. Gil26https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9970-2154R. Groebner27https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5643-564XT. Happel28https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4364-9363S.H. Kim29https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4100-4327J. King30https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6325-8899B. Labit31https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0751-8182P.T. Lang32https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1586-8518Y.Q. Liu33https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8192-8411Z.X. Liu34https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2627-8082R. Lunsford35https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3588-6801G.Y. Park36https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6876-9069U. Sheikh37https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6207-2489W. Suttrop38https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0983-8881B. Vanovac39https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4031-9318R.S. Wilcox40https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1369-1739A. Wingen41https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8855-1349T. Zhang42https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1555-6226Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , PO Box 808, Livermore, CA 94550, United States of AmericaOak Ridge National Lab , Oak Ridge, TN, United States of AmericaLaboratorio Nacional de Fusión, CIEMAT , Madrid 28040, SpainMax-Planck Institute for Plasma Physics , Garching, GermanyCEA, IRFM , F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, FranceUnited Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Culham Campus, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 3DB, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandNorth Carolina State University , Raleigh, NC, United States of AmericaGeneral Atomics , PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608, United States of AmericaColumbia University, New York, NY 10027, United States of AmericaCulham Center for Fusion Energy , Culham, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandOak Ridge National Lab , Oak Ridge, TN, United States of AmericaDepartment of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics, University of Seville , Seville, SpainCEA, IRFM , F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, FranceGeneral Atomics , PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608, United States of AmericaMax-Planck Institute for Plasma Physics , Garching, GermanyGeneral Atomics , PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608, United States of AmericaMax-Planck Institute for Plasma Physics , Garching, GermanyMIT Plasma Fusion Center , Cambridge, MA, United States of AmericaPrinceton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08543, United States of AmericaColumbia University, New York, NY 10027, United States of AmericaNational Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology , Naka, Ibaraki 311-0193, JapanMax-Planck Institute for Plasma Physics , Garching, GermanyLawrence Livermore National Laboratory , PO Box 808, Livermore, CA 94550, United States of AmericaPrinceton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08543, United States of AmericaDivision of Fusion Plasma Physics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology , Stockholm SE-100 44, SwedenUniversitat Politècnica de Catalunya , Barcelona, SpainInstituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa , 1049-001 Lisboa, PortugalGeneral Atomics , PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608, United States of AmericaMax-Planck Institute for Plasma Physics , Garching, GermanyITER Organization , Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St. Paul lez Durance, FranceFiat Lux , Lafayette, CO, United States of AmericaÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , Swiss Plasma Center (SPC),CH-1015 Lausanne, SwitzerlandMax-Planck Institute for Plasma Physics , Garching, GermanyGeneral Atomics , PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608, United States of AmericaUniversity of Science and Technology of China , Hefei, ChinaPrinceton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08543, United States of AmericaKorea Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE) , Daejeon, Korea, Republic OfÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , Swiss Plasma Center (SPC),CH-1015 Lausanne, SwitzerlandMax-Planck Institute for Plasma Physics , Garching, GermanyMIT Plasma Fusion Center , Cambridge, MA, United States of AmericaOak Ridge National Lab , Oak Ridge, TN, United States of AmericaOak Ridge National Lab , Oak Ridge, TN, United States of AmericaInstitute of Plasma Physics, CAS , PO Box 1126, Hefei 230031, ChinaThis paper describes the extensive progress that has been made in the understanding of tokamak pedestal physics since the 2007 publication of ‘Progress in the ITER Physics Basis’ (Ikeda 2007 Nucl. Fusion 47 E01–S500). It serves as Chapter 3 of the 2025 Nuclear Fusion Special Issue titled ‘On the Path to Tokamak Burning Plasma Operation’ (Campbell et al 2025 Nucl. Fusion ). This review was compiled by the pedestal and edge physics (PEP) community affiliated with the International Tokamak Physics Activity organization. It attempts to collect in one place citations to the majority of published literature on the pedestal physics topics that will be most important for the operation of a future power producing burning plasma tokamak. These include citations to publications describing the physics of the pedestal plasmas in many operating tokamaks worldwide and the pedestal physics projections for several near-term future devices including ITER. Descriptions of experimental results, interpretive modeling and predictive extrapolations are integrated together and comprehensive references are provided. This review is organized around four primary technical sections, viz.: pedestal structure, edge localized mode (ELM) characteristics, ELM control and regimes without large ELMs. Key results from many of the references are described briefly and set into the tokamak burning plasma power plant context. In addition, different perspectives on pedestal physics topics that are currently under debate within the community are also described, to provide guidance on needs for future research. Finally, attempts are made to describe conclusions from all of this progress consistent with discussions by the pedestal physics community at this time. The goal of this review is to provide a useful reference document for pedestal physics researchers going forward toward operation of a burning tokamak fusion plasma.https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/adb1f3tokamakburning plasmaELM characteristicsELM controlregimes without large ELMsedge pedestal structure
spellingShingle M.E. Fenstermacher (Chair, Pedestal and Edge Physics)
L.R. Baylor
E. de la Luna
M.G. Dunne
G.T.A. Huijsmans
A. Kirk
F.M. Laggner
T.H. Osborne
C. Paz-Soldan
S. Saarelma
P.B. Snyder
E. Viezzer
M. Becoulet
K.H. Burrell
A. Cathey
X. Chen
M. Hoelzl
J.W. Hughes
R. Maingi
A.O. Nelson
H. Urano
E. Wolfrum
X.Q. Xu
A. Diallo
L. Frassinetti
S. Futatani
L. Gil
R. Groebner
T. Happel
S.H. Kim
J. King
B. Labit
P.T. Lang
Y.Q. Liu
Z.X. Liu
R. Lunsford
G.Y. Park
U. Sheikh
W. Suttrop
B. Vanovac
R.S. Wilcox
A. Wingen
T. Zhang
Progress in pedestal and edge physics: Chapter 3 of the special issue: on the path to tokamak burning plasma operation
Nuclear Fusion
tokamak
burning plasma
ELM characteristics
ELM control
regimes without large ELMs
edge pedestal structure
title Progress in pedestal and edge physics: Chapter 3 of the special issue: on the path to tokamak burning plasma operation
title_full Progress in pedestal and edge physics: Chapter 3 of the special issue: on the path to tokamak burning plasma operation
title_fullStr Progress in pedestal and edge physics: Chapter 3 of the special issue: on the path to tokamak burning plasma operation
title_full_unstemmed Progress in pedestal and edge physics: Chapter 3 of the special issue: on the path to tokamak burning plasma operation
title_short Progress in pedestal and edge physics: Chapter 3 of the special issue: on the path to tokamak burning plasma operation
title_sort progress in pedestal and edge physics chapter 3 of the special issue on the path to tokamak burning plasma operation
topic tokamak
burning plasma
ELM characteristics
ELM control
regimes without large ELMs
edge pedestal structure
url https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/adb1f3
work_keys_str_mv AT mefenstermacherchairpedestalandedgephysics progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT lrbaylor progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT edelaluna progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT mgdunne progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT gtahuijsmans progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT akirk progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT fmlaggner progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT thosborne progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT cpazsoldan progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT ssaarelma progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT pbsnyder progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT eviezzer progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT mbecoulet progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT khburrell progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT acathey progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT xchen progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT mhoelzl progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT jwhughes progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT rmaingi progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT aonelson progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT hurano progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT ewolfrum progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT xqxu progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT adiallo progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT lfrassinetti progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT sfutatani progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT lgil progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT rgroebner progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT thappel progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT shkim progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT jking progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT blabit progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT ptlang progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT yqliu progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT zxliu progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT rlunsford progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT gypark progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT usheikh progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT wsuttrop progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT bvanovac progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT rswilcox progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT awingen progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation
AT tzhang progressinpedestalandedgephysicschapter3ofthespecialissueonthepathtotokamakburningplasmaoperation