Signatures of deuterium recombination in the DIII-D divertor

Thomson scattering measurements performed in the divertor of the DIII-D tokamak [Plasma Physics Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research, 1986 (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1987), Vol. I, p. 159] during detached operation show that the electron temperatures are typically between 0.8 and 2.0 eV throughout a region which may extend several centimeters above the target plate. At such low temperatures the excitation of recycling deuterium atoms or impurities should be weak. Nevertheless, significant radiation is frequently detected in these locations. It has been suggested that recombination processes, which become important only below about 1.5 eV for deuterium, are responsible for the observed emission. This hypothesis has been investigated by comparing ratios of deuterium lines from attached and detached plasmas with theoretical ratios expected for ionizing or recombining conditions. The analysis of several discharges indicates that the mechanism for production of the emission changes from being collisional excitation of atomic deuterium to a mixture of collisional-radiative recombination and collisional excitation as plasmas evolve from attached to detached states. Localization of D-a emission to low-temperature regions using tangentially viewing camera data together with Thomson scattering results and measurements of deuterium atom temperatures are consistent with these conclusions. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.