Origin of Tokamak Density Limit Scalings

The onset criterion for radiation driven islands [P. H. Rebut and M. Hugon, Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research 1984: Proc. 10th Int. Conf. London, 1984, (IAEA, Vienna, 1985), Vol. 2] in combination with a simple cylindrical model of tokamak current channel behavior is consistent with the empirical scaling of the tokamak density limit [M. Greenwald, Nucl. Fusion 28, 2199 (1988)]. Many other unexplained phenomena at the density limit are consistent with this novel physics mechanism.