Strike point splitting induced by the application of magnetic perturbations on MAST

Abstract Divertor strike point splitting induced by resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) has been observed on MAST for a variety of RMP configurations in a plasma scenario with I p  = 750 kA where those configurations all have similar resonant components. Complementary measurements have been obtained with divertor Langmuir probes and an infrared camera. Clear splitting consistently appears in this scenario only in the even configuration of the perturbation coils, similarly to the density pump-out. These results present a challenge for models of plasma response to RMPs.