Dynamics of electron internal transport barrier formation at the H–L transition on EAST

The dynamics of electron-internal transport barrier (e-ITB) formation is studied in the hybrid plasma of neutral beam injection and lower hybrid wave heating on EAST. The e-ITB is observed to be repetitively formed at the H–L transition, where the relaxation process of core radiation triggers an increase in neutron yield and core electron temperature. A reversed q-profile is beneficial for generating the barrier, identified by the appearance of reversed shear Alfvén eigenmodes (RSAEs). The dimensionless parameter of the normalized Larmor radius is estimated to visualize the dynamic behavior of the e-ITB. It is found that the e-ITB forms once the electron exceeds 0.014, and the RSAEs are accompanied by the e-ITB formation. The barrier foot moves inwards until the L–H transition occurs, where the H-mode pedestal or type-I edge localized mode (ELM) strongly influences the e-ITB intensity. The results of thermal transport modeling show a significant reduction in the core thermal transport coefficient in the electron channel while maintaining a nearly unchanged ion transport level as the e-ITB evolves.