Jacob Eriksson

Measurements of fast ions and their interactions with MHD activity using neutron emission spectroscopy

Ion cyclotron radio frequency (ICRF) heating can produce fast ion populations with energies reaching up to several megaelectronvolts. Here, we present unique measurements of fast ion distributions from an experiment with 3rd harmonic ICRF heating on deuterium beams using neutron emission spectroscopy (NES). From the experiment, very high DD neutron rates were observed, using only modest external heating powers. This was attributed to acceleration of deuterium beam ions to energies up to about 2-3 MeV, where the DD reactivity is on a par with that of the DT reaction. The high neutron rates allowed for observations of changes in the fast deuterium energy distribution on a time scale of 50 ms. Clear correlations were seen between fast deuterium ions in different energy ranges and magnetohydrodynamic activities, such as monster sawteeth and toroidal Alfven eigen modes (TAE). Specifically, NES data showed that the number of deuterons in the region between 1 and 1.5 MeV were decaying significantly during strong TAE activity, while ions with lower energies around 500 keV were not affected. This was attributed to resonances with the TAE modes.

Energetic Particle Instabilities in Fusion Plasmas

Remarkable progress has been made in diagnosing energetic particle instabilities on present-day machines and in establishing a theoretical framework for describing them. This overview describes the much improved diagnostics of Alfven instabilities and modelling tools developed world-wide, and discusses progress in interpreting the observed phenomena. A multi-machine comparison is presented giving information on the performance of both diagnostics and modelling tools for different plasma conditions outlining expectations for ITER based on our present knowledge.

Fast-ion distributions from third harmonic ICRF heating studied with neutron emission spectroscopy

The fast-ion distribution from third harmonic ion cyclotron resonance frequency (ICRF) heating on the Joint European Torus is studied using neutron emission spectroscopy with the time-of-flight spectrometer TOFOR. The energy dependence of the fast deuteron distribution function is inferred from the measured spectrum of neutrons born in DD fusion reactions, and the inferred distribution is compared with theoretical models for ICRF heating. Good agreements between modelling and measurements are seen with clear features in the fast-ion distribution function, that are due to the finite Larmor radius of the resonating ions, replicated. Strong synergetic effects between ICRF and neutral beam injection heating were also seen. The total energy content of the fast-ion population derived from TOFOR data was in good agreement with magnetic measurements for values below 350 kJ.

Dual sightline measurements of MeV range deuterons with neutron and gamma-ray spectroscopy at JET

Observations made in a JET experiment aimed at accelerating deuterons to the MeV range by third harmonic radio-frequency (RF) heating coupled into a deuterium beam are reported. Measurements are ba ...

Neutron spectroscopy measurements of tritium beam transport at JET

A detailed description of the 14 MeV neutron emission in plasmas heated by neutral beam injection has been carried out by coupling Monte Carlo calculations of the neutron emission spectrum with TRANSP modelling of the beam ion energy distributions. The model is used to study tritium beam injection experiments of the JET trace tritium campaign for internal transport barrier (ITB) and H-mode discharges. For ITB discharges, the measured neutron emission spectrum is well described by modelling using as input the beam ion distribution calculated with TRANSP. For H mode discharges the neutron spectrum can be reproduced only if high energy tritons are lost from the plasma, suggesting the possible role of low frequency tearing modes on the beam ions. The presented results are of relevance for tritium beam transport studies in trace tritium experiments and, more generally, for deuterium and tritium transport studies in high power experiments using neutron emission spectroscopy.

Velocity-space sensitivity of neutron spectrometry measurements

Neutron emission spectrometry (NES) measures the energies of neutrons produced in fusion reactions. Here we present velocity-space weight functions for NES and neutron yield measurements. Weight functions show the sensitivity as well as the accessible regions in velocity space for a given range of the neutron energy spectrum. Combined with a calculated fast-ion distribution function, they determine the part of the distribution function producing detectable neutrons in a given neutron energy range. Furthermore, we construct a forward model based on weight functions capable of rapidly calculating neutron energy spectra. This forward model can be inverted and could thereby be used to directly measure the fast-ion phase-space distribution functions, possibly in combination with other fast-ion diagnostics. The presented methods and results can be applied to neutron energy spectra measured by any kind of neutron spectrometer and to any neutron yield measurement.

Deuterium beam acceleration with 3rd harmonic ion cyclotron resonance heating in Joint European Torus: Sawtooth stabilization and Alfvén eigenmodes

Experiments on accelerating NBI-produced deuterium (D) beam ions from their injection energy of ∼110 keV up to the MeV energy range with 3rd harmonic ion cyclotron resonance heating were performed on the Joint European Torus [P. H. Rebut and B. E. Keen, Fusion Technol. 11, 13 (1987)]. A renewed set of nuclear diagnostics was used for analysing fast D ions during sawtooth stabilization, monster sawtooth crashes, and during excitation of Alfven eigenmodes (AEs) residing inside the q = 1 radius. The measurements and modeling of the fast ions with the nonlinear HAGIS code [S. D. Pinches et al., Comput. Phys. Commun. 111, 133 (1998)] show that monster sawtooth crashes are strongly facilitated by the AE-induced re-distribution of the fast D ions from inside the q = 1 radius to the plasma edge.

Fast ion energy distribution from third harmonic radio frequency heating measured with a single crystal diamond detector at the Joint European Torus.

Neutron spectroscopy measurements with a single crystal diamond detector have been carried out at JET, for the first time in an experiment aimed at accelerating deuterons to MeV energies with radio frequency heating at the third harmonic. Data are interpreted by means of the expected response function of the detector and are used to extract parameters of the highly non-Maxwellian distribution function generated in this scenario. A comparison with observations using a time of flight and liquid scintillator neutron spectrometers is also presented. The results demonstrate the capability of diamond detectors to contribute to fast ion physics studies at JET and are of more general relevance in view of the application of such detectors for spectroscopy measurements in the neutron camera of next step tokamak devices.

Optimization of ICRH for core impurity control in JET-ILW

Ion cyclotron resonance frequency (ICRF) heating has been an essential component in the development of high power H-mode scenarios in the Jet European Torus ITER-like wall (JET-ILW). The ICRF performance was improved by enhancing the antenna-plasma coupling with dedicated main chamber gas injection, including the preliminary minimization of RF-induced plasma-wall interactions, while the RF heating scenarios where optimized for core impurity screening in terms of the ion cyclotron resonance position and the minority hydrogen concentration. The impact of ICRF heating on core impurity content in a variety of 2.5 MA JET-ILW H-mode plasmas will be presented, and the steps that were taken for optimizing ICRF heating in these experiments will be reviewed.

Calculating fusion neutron energy spectra from arbitrary reactant distributions

The Directional Relativistic Spectrum Simulator (DRESS) code can perform Monte-Carlo calculations of reaction product spectra from arbitrary reactant distributions, using fully relativistic kinemat ...