The Greenwald density limit in the Reversed Field Pinch

In the Reversed Field Pinch RFX the density operating space exhibits an upper boundary that is well described by the Greenwald limit. The basic findings are described and similarities and differences with the Tokamak case are analysed. The high-density limit occurs as a non-disruptive limit. Fast terminations have been observed but in a wide area of the operating space and therefore are unlikely to be related to the density limit. Radiation induced thermal collapse can also be ruled out being radiation losses always a relatively small fraction of the ohmic input power. The occurrence of plasma detachment while approaching the density limit can be excluded. The absence of additional heating makes it difficult to distinguish with certainty between a power balance effect and an intrinsic physical limit but the overlapping of the Greenwald limit with the upper boundary of the density operating space is however remarkable, especially in the case of He plasmas . While in Tokamaks one of the plausible causes for the limit is a transport induced edge thermal instability, in RFX, as density increases the density profile becomes hollow, inside the last closed magnetic surface particle diffusion decreases and the global energy confinement time improves. The normalised density fluctuations measured by Langmuir probes and by the outermost chords of an interferometer do not increase. Simulations of the hydrogen discharges with the RITM code confirm the importance of recycling in determining the edge density gradient and the minor role of radiation losses. Differences between H and He cases are analysed in terms of particle penetration capability and in terms of edge ExB shear. A statistical analysis of the edge density fluctuations is presented, looking for differences arising as density is increased. Finally, the possible role of pressure driven modes is discussed.