Overview of L- to H-mode transition experiments at ASDEX Upgrade

This paper presents an overview of results from L-H transition experiments that were performed at ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) with the aim of identifying the underlying mechanisms leading to H-mode confinement. With a broad variety of experiments and new diagnostic techniques, as well as modeling efforts, AUG has contributed substantially to improving our understanding of the L-H transition over the past years. In this review, the important roles of the ion heat channel and the edge radial electric field (Er ) in the L-H transition physics are brought into context with known dependencies of the H-mode power threshold ( P L H ), such as the impact of wall material, magnetic perturbations, and the magnetic configuration. Furthermore, experimental and theoretical results obtained at AUG on the L-mode edge turbulence are connected to the mean-field Er and its related shear flow. This led to a deeper understanding of the I-phase plasma regime, has resolved the so-called isotope effect of P L H , and led to the development of a semi-analytical model that can describe AUG’s experimental observations of the L-H transition together with the L- and H-mode density limits.