| 1. |
- Du, X. D., et al.
(författare)
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Multiscale Chirping Modes Driven by Thermal Ions in a Plasma with Reactor-Relevant Ion Temperature
- 2021
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 1079-7114 .- 0031-9007. ; 127:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A thermal ion driven bursting instability with rapid frequency chirping, considered as an Alfvenic ion temperature gradient mode, has been observed in plasmas having reactor-relevant temperature in the DIII-D tokamak. The modes are excited over a wide spatial range from macroscopic device size to microturbulence size and the perturbation energy propagates across multiple spatial scales. The radial mode structure is able to expand from local to global in similar to 0.1 ms and it causes magnetic topology changes in the plasma edge, which can lead to a minor disruption event. Since the mode is typically observed in the high ion temperature greater than or similar to 10 keV and high-beta plasma regime, the manifestation of the mode in future reactors should be studied with development of mitigation strategies, if needed. This is the first observation of destabilization of the Alfven continuum caused by the compressibility of ions with reactor-relevant ion temperature.
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| 2. |
- Hollmann, E M, et al.
(författare)
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Estimate of pre-thermal quench non-thermal electron density profile during Ar pellet shutdowns of low-density target plasmas in DIII-D
- 2021
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Ingår i: Physics of Plasmas. - : AIP Publishing. - 1089-7674 .- 1070-664X. ; 28:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The radial density profile of pre-thermal quench (pre-TQ) early-time non-thermal (hot) electrons is estimated by combining electron cyclotron emission and soft x-ray data during the rapid shutdown of low-density (ne≲1019m−3) DIII-D target plasmas with cryogenic argon pellet injection. This technique is mostly limited in these experiments to the pre-TQ phase and quickly loses validity during the TQ. Two different cases are studied: a high (10 keV) temperature target and a low (4 keV) temperature target. The results indicate that early-time, low-energy (∼10 keV) hot electrons form ahead of the argon pellet as it enters the plasma, affecting the pellet ablation rate; it is hypothesized that this may be caused by rapid cross field transport of argon ions ahead of the pellet or by rapid cross field transport of hot electrons. Fokker-Planck modeling of the two shots suggests that the hot electron current is quite significant during the pre-TQ phase (up to 50% of the total current). Comparison between modeled pre-TQ hot electron current and post-TQ hot electron current inferred from avalanche theory suggests that hot electron current increases during the high-temperature target TQ but decreases during the low-temperature target TQ. The uncertainties in this estimate are large; however, if true, this suggests that TQ radial loss of hot electron current could be larger than previously estimated in DIII-D.
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