Characterisation of detachment in the MAST-U Super-X divertor using multi-wavelength imaging of 2D atomic and molecular emission processes

In this work, we provide the first 2D spatially resolved description of radiative detachment in MAST-U Super-X L-mode divertor plasmas. The Super-X magnetic configuration was designed to achieve reduced heat- and particle loads at the divertor target compared to conventional exhaust solutions. We use filtered camera imaging to reconstruct 2D emissivity profiles in the poloidal plane for multiple atomic and molecular emission lines and bands. A set of deuterium fuelling scans is discussed that, together, span attached to deeply detached divertor states observed in MAST-U. Emissivity profiles facilitate separate analysis of locked-mode induced split branches of the scrape-off layer. Molecular deuterium Fulcher band emission front tracking reveals that the deuterium electron-impact ionisation front, for which it serves a proxy, detaches at different upstream electron densities in the split branches. Upon detachment of this ionisation front, Balmer emission attributed to molecular activated recombination appears near-target. We report a simultaneous radial broadening of the emission leg, consistent with previous SOLPS-ITER modelling. With increased fuelling this emission region detaches, implying electron temperatures below ∼ 1 eV. In this phase, 2D Balmer line ratio reconstruction indicates an onset of volumetric direct electron-ion recombination near-target. At the highest fuelling rates this emission region moves off-target, suggesting a drop in near-wall electron density accompanying the low temperatures.</p

2D electron cyclotron emission imaging at ASDEX Upgrade (invited)

The newly installed electron cyclotron emission imaging diagnostic on ASDEX Upgrade provides measurements of the 2D electron temperature dynamics with high spatial and temporal resolution. An overview of the technical and experimental properties of the system is presented. These properties are illustrated by the measurements of the edge localized mode and the reversed shear Alfvén eigenmode, showing both the advantage of having a two-dimensional 2D measurement, as well as some of the limitations of electron cyclotron emission measurements. Furthermore, the application of singular value decomposition as a powerful tool for analyzing and filtering 2D data is presented. © 2010 American Institute of Physics

Tomographic reconstruction of the runaway distribution function in TCV using multispectral synchrotron images

Synchrotron radiation observed in a quiescent Tokamak Configuration Variable (TCV) runaway discharge is studied using filtered camera images targeting three distinct wavelength intervals. Through the tomographic simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART) procedure the high momentum, high pitch angle part of the spatial and momentum distribution of these relativistic particles is reconstructed. Experimental estimates of the distribution are important for verification and refinement of formation-, decay- and transport-models underlying runaway avoidance and mitigation strategy design. Using a test distribution it is demonstrated that the inversion procedure provides estimates accurate to within a few tens of percent in the region of phase-space contributing most to the synchrotron image. We find that combining images filtered around different parts of the emission spectrum widens the probed part of momentum-space and reduces reconstruction errors. Next, the SART algorithm is used to obtain information on the spatiotemporal runaway momentum distribution in a selected TCV discharge. The momentum distribution is found to relax towards an avalanche-like exponentially decaying profile. Anomalously high pitch angles and a radial profile increasing towards the edge are found for the most strongly emitting particles in the distribution.Pitch angle scattering by toroidal magnetic field ripple is consistent with this picture. An alternative explanation is the presence of high frequency instabilities in combination with the formation of a runaway shell at the edge of the plasma. </p

Demonstration of a sparse sensor placement technique to the limited diagnostic set in a fusion power plant

DEMO will have a limited diagnostic set for optimization of reactor performance, and limited diagnostic coverage due to challenging reactor conditions. This poses challenges for control, especially for detachment control which is planned to be performed with a limited set of spectroscopic lines-of-sight. To demonstrate mitigation of the coverage problem, we have implemented a sparse sensor placement technique on TCV for the case of spectroscopy. Experimental CIII 2D emissivity profiles from the MANTIS multispectral imaging system at TCV are used to create a synthetic spectroscopy system, with DEMO-relevant lines-of-sight. This synthetic diagnostic is validated through comparison with spectroscopic measurements in TCV. The sparse sensor placement algorithm takes as input the radiance calculated for a large set of lines-of-sight, resolved in time. It provides a method to reconstruct an emission profile along the divertor leg based on measurements from only a few lines-of-sight. We demonstrate that it is feasible to use a calibration based on either experimental data or simulated emissivities from SOLPS-ITER. As a result, for DEMO, the line-of-sight selection and a mathematical basis for reconstruction can be obtained before the reactor is turned on. The sparse sensor placement method can also be applied to estimate other physical quantities from emission measurements, if they have a one-to-one relationship with the shape of the emission profile along the divertor leg. As an example, the peak target current density obtained with Langmuir probes can be reconstructed using spectroscopy measurements. Lastly, the geometry of the lines-of-sight plays an important role in proper emission profile reconstruction. It should be tailor-made to the used magnetic configuration to measure the emission profile accurately, and the technique described here offers a route for performing this optimization.</p

The effects of electron cyclotron heating and current drive on toroidal Alfven eigenmodes in tokamak plasmas

Dedicated studies performed for toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes (TAEs) in ASDEX-Upgrade (AUG) discharges with monotonic q-profiles have shown that electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) can make TAEs more unstable. In these AUG discharges, energetic ions driving TAEs were obtained by ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH). It was found that off-axis ECRH facilitated TAE instability, with TAEs appearing and disappearing on timescales of a few milliseconds when the ECRH power was switched on and off. On-axis ECRH had a much weaker effect on TAEs, and in AUG discharges performed with co- and counter-current electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD), the effects of ECCD were found to be similar to those of ECRH. Fast ion distributions produced by ICRH were computed with the PION and SELFO codes. A significant increase in Te caused by ECRH applied off-axis is found to increase the fast ion slowing-down time and fast ion pressure causing a significant increase in the TAE drive by ICRH-accelerated ions. TAE stability calculations show that the rise in Te causes also an increase in TAE radiative damping and thermal ion Landau damping, but to a lesser extent than the fast ion drive. As a result of the competition between larger drive and damping effects caused by ECRH, TAEs become more unstable. It is concluded, that although ECRH effects on AE stability in present-day experiments may be quite significant, they are determined by the changes in the plasma profiles and are not particularly ECRH specific.EURATOM 633053RCUK Energy Programme P012450/

Fast-ion redistribution and loss due to edge perturbations in the ASDEX Upgrade, DIII-D and KSTAR tokamaks

The impact of edge localized modes (ELMs) and externally applied resonant and non-resonant magnetic perturbations (MPs) on fast-ion confinement/transport have been investigated in the ASDEX Upgrade (AUG), DIII-D and KSTAR tokamaks. Two phases with respect to the ELM cycle can be clearly distinguished in ELM-induced fast-ion losses. Inter-ELM losses are characterized by a coherent modulation of the plasma density around the separatrix while intra-ELM losses appear as well-defined bursts. In high collisionality plasmas with mitigated ELMs, externally applied MPs have little effect on kinetic profiles, including fast-ions, while a strong impact on kinetic profiles is observed in low-collisionality, low q 95 plasmas with resonant and non-resonant MPs. In low-collisionality H-mode plasmas, the large fast-ion filaments observed during ELMs are replaced by a loss of fast-ions with a broad-band frequency and an amplitude of up to an order of magnitude higher than the neutral beam injection prompt loss signal without MPs. A clear synergy in the overall fast-ion transport is observed between MPs and neoclassical tearing modes. Measured fast-ion losses are typically on banana orbits that explore the entire pedestal/scrape-off layer. The fast-ion response to externally applied MPs presented here may be of general interest for the community to better understand the MP field penetration and overall plasma response.Ministerio de Economía y Empresa ((RYC-2011-09152 y ENE2012-31087)Marie Curie (Grant PCIG11-GA-2012-321455)US Department of Energy (DE-FC02-04ER54698, SC-G903402, DE-FG02-04ER54761, DE-AC02-09CH11466 and DE-FG02- 08ER54984)NRF Korea contract 2009-0082012MEST under the KSTAR projec