The hot electron plasmas (Te>2Ti) in Tore Supra (Equipe Tore Supra (presented by R. Aymar) in Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research [Proc. 12th Int. Conf., Nice, 1988 (IAEA, Vienna, 1989), Vol. 1, p. 9]) driven by fast wave electron heating (FWEH) are analyzed for thermal transport. Both neoclassical and anomalous transport processes are taken into account. The dominant power flow is through the electron channel of anomalous thermal diffusivity. The electron and ion temperature gradient driven instabilities are analyzed for a well documented discharge and shown to explain the diffusivities inferred from the steady state power balance analysis. The discharges are maintained in a quasi-steady state for periods up to 100 global energy replacement times. A large Tore Supra database is tested against two models for the turbulent electron thermal conductivity. Good correlation is obtained with an updated version of the collisionless skin depth formula. The electrostatic turbulence-based formula for electron temperature gradient (ETG) mode performs poorly in the core but well in the outer plasma. The electromagnetic turbulence theory based formula for ETG mode is benchmarked with the empirical Taroni–Bohm formula derived from Joint European Torus (JET) data.

[1] Recent global simulations of substorms show that before the onset of near-Earth reconnection the pressure equilibrium in the tail breaks down. This instability has no cross-tail variation and is thus not a ballooning mode, and it is also distinct from the tearing mode. Here, we analyze an Open Geospace General Circulation Model simulation run of the 23 March 2007 substorm and find the same instability. Because this mode has no significant cross-tail variation associated with it we call it the KY0 mode. Besides the KY0 mode we also find the classical ballooning mode in the simulation. It has a wavelength of ∼0.5 R E and is marginally, but sufficiently, resolved as shown by a higher-resolution control run. These results suggest a new scenario for the substorm expansion phase onset. During the growth phase magnetic flux is added to the lobes and the plasma sheet thins but remains in equilibrium. When force balance is no longer possible the KY0 instability grows and accelerates plasma tailward. The divergence of the resulting tailward flow reduces the normal magnetic field and thereby makes the current sheet tearing unstable. The tearing mode grows right out of the KY0 mode. The classical ballooning mode grows at the same time and is superimposed on the KY0 mode, but its role in initiating reconnection is still unclear. The growth time of the KY0 mode, ∼2 min, is both consistent with the notion of an explosive growth phase and with recent ground-based observation of the initial growth of auroral arcs before auroral breakup.Citation: Raeder, J., P. Zhu, Y. Ge, and G. Siscoe (2010), Open Geospace General Circulation Model simulation of a substorm: Axial tail instability and ballooning mode preceding substorm onset,

In Tore Supra plasmas with fast wave electron heating, a critical threshold in the electron temperature gradient (inverted DeltaT(e)) is clearly observed, i.e., a finite value of inverted DeltaT(e) for which the turbulent heat diffusivity vanishes. The radial profile of this critical gradient is experimentally determined from a set of discharges characterized by similar plasma parameters with fast wave powers ranging from 0.75 to 7.4 MW. The dependence of the electron heat flux on the gradient length is found to be offset linearly. The offset term increases linearly with the ratio of the local magnetic shear to the safety factor.