Erlangen 2026 – scientific programme

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P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik

P 16: Poster Session Plasma Physics

P 16.88: Poster

Thursday, March 19, 2026, 13:45–15:45, Redoutensaal

ECRH as a candidate for electron temperature and -density profile shaping towards confinement improvements in W7-X — •Melina Arvanitou, Matthias Hirsch, Kai Jakob Brunner, Neha Chaudhary, Golo Fuchert, Juan Fernando Guerrero Arnaiz, Vaishnavi Murugesan, Miklos Vecsei, Gavin Weir, Robert Wolf, and The W7-X Team — Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics

At present T_i gradient clamping inhibits the establishment of high-confinement regimes in Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) plasmas. Overcoming this constraint requires finite density gradients at mid-radius, which are believed to suppress ITG turbulence. Although achievable with deep fueling by Neutral Beam Injection (NBI) and pellets, both methods pose challenges for reactor-scale implementation. Since Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) is already envisaged as the primary heating system in future reactor-scale stellarator concepts, any intrinsic profile-shaping capability would represent a built-in advantage for optimizing confinement. ECRH is well known to provide control over the T_e-profile while simultaneously impacting particle and impurity transport through mechanisms such as density pump-out. On- and off-axis application of localized X2 ECRH has been conducted to investigate its profile-shaping properties, with the resulting density and temperature profiles provided by Thomson scattering (TS) and alkali metal beam spectroscopy. Small heat-wave-like temperature perturbations in the Electron Cyclotron Emission (ECE) traveling away from the ECRH deposition zone indicate an associated transport effect.

Keywords: Wendelstein 7-X; Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating; profile shaping; Electron Cyclotron Emission