{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,25]],"date-time":"2026-07-25T03:28:55Z","timestamp":1784950135905,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":62,"publisher":"American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)","issue":"1","funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000015","name":"the U.S. Department of Energy","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["DE-FG02-86ER53218"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DE-FG02-86ER53218"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000015","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"the National MCF Energy R&D Program of China","award":["2019YFE03050004"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019YFE03050004"]}]},{"name":"the National MCF Energy R&D Program of China","award":["2022YFE03020004"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022YFE03020004"]}]},{"name":"The Hubei International Science and Technology Cooperation Project","award":["2022EHB003"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022EHB003"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.science.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Sci. Adv."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,2]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    High plasma density operation is crucial for a tokamak to achieve energy breakeven and burning plasma. However, there is often an empirical upper limit of electron density in tokamak operation, namely, the Greenwald density limit\n                    <jats:inline-formula>\n                      <mml:math xmlns:mml=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" display=\"inline\" overflow=\"scroll\">\n                        <mml:mrow>\n                          <mml:msub>\n                            <mml:mi>n<\/mml:mi>\n                            <mml:mi mathvariant=\"normal\">G<\/mml:mi>\n                          <\/mml:msub>\n                        <\/mml:mrow>\n                      <\/mml:math>\n                    <\/jats:inline-formula>\n                    , above which tokamaks generally disrupt. Achieving high-density operation above the density limit has been a long-standing challenge in magnetic confinement fusion research. Here, we report experimental results on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) achieving line-averaged electron density in the range of (1.3 to 1.65)\n                    <jats:inline-formula>\n                      <mml:math xmlns:mml=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" display=\"inline\" overflow=\"scroll\">\n                        <mml:mrow>\n                          <mml:msub>\n                            <mml:mi>n<\/mml:mi>\n                            <mml:mi mathvariant=\"normal\">G<\/mml:mi>\n                          <\/mml:msub>\n                        <\/mml:mrow>\n                      <\/mml:math>\n                    <\/jats:inline-formula>\n                    , significantly above the typical EAST operational range of (0.8 to 1.0)\n                    <jats:inline-formula>\n                      <mml:math xmlns:mml=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" display=\"inline\" overflow=\"scroll\">\n                        <mml:mrow>\n                          <mml:msub>\n                            <mml:mi>n<\/mml:mi>\n                            <mml:mi mathvariant=\"normal\">G<\/mml:mi>\n                          <\/mml:msub>\n                        <\/mml:mrow>\n                      <\/mml:math>\n                    <\/jats:inline-formula>\n                    . This is performed with electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH)\u2013assisted ohmic start-up and sufficiently high initial neutral density. These experiments are shown to operate in the density-free regime first predicted by a recent plasma-wall self-organization theory. These results suggest a promising scheme for substantially increasing the density limit in tokamaks, a critical advancement toward achieving burning plasma.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.adz3040","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]],"date-time":"2026-01-01T18:58:31Z","timestamp":1767293911000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34133\/aaas_crossmark","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Accessing the density-free regime with ECRH-assisted ohmic start-up on EAST"],"prefix":"10.1126","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9641-4368","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jiaxing","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology, International Joint Research Laboratory of Magnetic Confinement Fusion and Plasma Physics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 453500, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5773-8861","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ping","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology, International Joint Research Laboratory of Magnetic Confinement Fusion and Plasma Physics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 453500, China."},{"name":"Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0460-8385","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Dominique Franck","family":"Escande","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Aix-Marseille Universit\u00e9, CNRS, PIIM, UMR 7345, Marseille, France."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1042-4117","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Wenbin","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shiwei","family":"Xue","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology, International Joint Research Laboratory of Magnetic Confinement Fusion and Plasma Physics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 453500, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4540-3017","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Xin","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Panjun","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8373-117X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Liang","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2536-5853","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ning","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jinju","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5800-0930","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Yanmin","family":"Duan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kai","family":"Jia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3141-9969","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Zhenwei","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9195-2757","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Yunxin","family":"Cheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7880-9588","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ling","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2646-6509","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jinping","family":"Qian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, 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Zohm ASDEX team W7-AS team \u201cComparison of density Limit Physics on the ASDEX tokamak and the Wendelstein 7-AS stellarator \u201d in Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research (International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Wurzburg Germany 1993)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/0029-5515\/37\/11\/I10"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/0029-5515\/39\/6\/305"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.nme.2017.01.005"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1741-4326\/acd9db"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1741-4326\/aa6230"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1741-4326\/ab3b31"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1361-6587\/ac57cc"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.128.185003"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1361-6587\/ac7972"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1741-4326\/ac613a"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rsta.2021.0227"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/0741-3335\/45\/5\/320"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/0029-5515\/53\/8\/083002"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_18_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-024-07313-3"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_19_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.133.055101"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_20_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/0029-5515\/52\/2\/023017"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_21_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0022-3115(98)00592-3"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_22_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1741-4326\/ac3c87"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_23_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1361-6587\/adf883"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_24_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1741-4326\/ab03a7"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_25_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1063\/1.5098761"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_26_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1741-4326\/ace91c"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_27_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1741-4326\/ad336e"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_28_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/0741-3335\/55\/11\/115010"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_29_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rinp.2023.107260"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_30_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1741-4326\/ad456a"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_31_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1741-4326\/ad8c62"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_32_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fusengdes.2010.05.017"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_33_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/0741-3335\/46\/12B\/029"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_34_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/0029-5515\/25\/11\/007"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_35_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1009-0630\/16\/4\/17"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_36_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"P. 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