Role of rational surfaces on fluctuations and transport in the plasma edge of the TJ-II stellarator

It has been shown that transport barriers in toroidal magnetically confined plasmas tend to be linked to regions of unique magnetic topology such as the location of a minimum in the safety factor, rational surfaces or the boundary between closed and open flux surfaces. In the absence ofE×B sheared flows, fluctuations are expected to show maximum amplitude near rational surfaces, and plasma confinement might tend to deteriorate. On the other hand, if the generation ofE×B sheared flows were linked to low order rational surfaces, these would be beneficial for confinement. Experimental evidence ofE×B sheared flows linked to rational surfaces has been obtained in the plasma edge region of the TJ-II stellarator. Presented at the Workshop on the Role of Electric Fields in Plasma Confinement and Exhaust, Budapest, 18–19 June, 2000.