Radiative Thermal Instability in Peripheral Plasma (marfe)

Abstract

The marfe (Multifaced Asymmetric Radiation From the Edge) is a poloidally asymmetric radiation band localized near the inside midplane and is a common phenomenon among middle and large size tokamaks like Alcator-C, ASDEX, TFTR, JET, and JT-60. It can be explained as a radiative thermal instability in a peripheral plasma. This paper reviews the phenomenology and theoretical treatments of marfes. And outline of the related phenomena, detached plasma and IDC (Improved Divertor Confinement), are provided herein.