Experimental studies and modeling of complete H-mode divertor detachment in ASDEX Upgrade

Abstract Power exhaust in future fusion devices is critical and operation with a detached divertor is foreseen for ITER and DEMO. The evolution of detachment in nitrogen seeded H-mode discharges at ASDEX Upgrade is categorized in four phases. Complete detachment of the outer target is found to be correlated with a strongly localized radiation at the X-point and a pressure loss at the pedestal top at almost constant core plasma pressure. SOLPS modeling shows that enhanced radial transport in the divertor region is necessary to reconcile the experimental profiles with the simulations. The modeling supports the experimental observation of the correlation of complete detachment with an X-point radiation and a reduction of the pedestal top pressure. A remaining discrepancy are significantly lower neutral densities in the divertor compared to experiment. The effects of wall pumping, the particle reflection model and the boundary conditions on the plasma solution are discussed.