Measurement and physical interpretation of the mean motion of turbulent density patterns detected by the beam emission spectroscopy system on the mega amp spherical tokamak

The mean motion of turbulent patterns detected by a two-dimensional beam emission spectroscopy (BES) diagnostic on the mega amp spherical tokamak (MAST) is determined using a cross-correlation time delay method. Statistical reliability of the method is studied by means of synthetic data analysis. The experimental measurements on MAST indicate that the apparent mean poloidal motion of the turbulent density patterns in the lab frame arises because the longest correlation direction of the patterns (parallel to the local background magnetic fields) is not parallel to the direction of the fastest mean plasma flows (usually toroidal when strong neutral-beam injection is present). This effect is particularly pronounced in a spherical tokamak because of the relatively large mean rotation and large magnetic pitch angle. The experimental measurements are consistent with the mean motion of plasma being toroidal. The sum of all other contributions (mean poloidal plasma flow, phase velocity of the density patterns in the plasma frame, non-linear effects, etc) to the apparent mean poloidal velocity of the density patterns is found to be negligible. These results hold in all investigated L-mode, H-mode and internal transport barrier discharges. The one exception is a high-poloidal-beta (the ratio of the plasma pressure to the poloidal magnetic field energy density) discharge, where a large magnetic island exists. In this case BES detects very little motion. This effect is currently theoretically unexplained.