Flow measurements in the scrape-off layer of Alcator C-Mod using impurity plumes

Accurate measurements of plasma flows in the scrape-off layer (SOL) are a necessary requirement for understanding the physics of tokamak edge plasmas. A system is being developed on Alcator C-Mod for inferring flows parallel (v∥) and perpendicular (vE×B) to local magnetic field lines from impurity emission patterns (‘plumes’) generated by local gas injection. Carbon plumes are generated at variable location in the SOL by puffing deuterated ethylene gas (C2D4) through the end of a reciprocating fast-scanning probe. Two intensified CCD cameras are used to record C+1 and C+2 emission patterns simultaneously from near-perpendicular views. Plumes are modeled using a Monte Carlo impurity transport code, from which values for the background flows may be extracted. The sensitivity of the plume structure is investigated for a number of code inputs, including radial electric field (Er) and the neutral launch dynamics. Initial modeling results indicate discrepancies between values of v∥ and Er extracted from the plumes and measurements obtained from probe data.