Midplane Faraday Rotation: A densitometer for BPX

The density in a high field, high density tokamak such as BPX can be determined by measuring the Faraday rotation of a 10.6 {mu}m laser directed tangent to the toroidal field. If there is a horizontal array of such beams, then n{sub e}(R) can be readily obtained with a simple Abel version about the center line of the tokamak. For BPX operated at full field and density, the rotation angle would be quite large -- about 75{degrees} per pass. A layout in which a single laser beam is fanned out in the horizontal midplane of the tokamak, with a set of retroreflectors on the far side of the vacuum vessel, would provide good spatial resolution, depending only upon the number of reflectors. With this proposed layout, only one window would be needed. Because the rotation angle is never more than 1 fringe,'' the data is always good, and it is also a continuous measurement in time. Faraday rotation is dependent only upon the plasma itself, and thus is not sensitive to vibration of the optical components. Simulations of the expected results show that BPX would be well served even at low densities by a Midplane Faraday Rotation densitometer of {approximately}64 channels. Both TFTR and PBX-M would be suitable test beds for the BPX system

Rational choices for the wavelengths of a two color interferometer

If in a two color interferometer for plasma density measurements, the two wavelengths are chosen to have a ratio that is a rational number, and if the signals from each of the wavelengths are multiplied in frequency by the appropriate integer of the rational number and then heterodyned together, the resultant signal will have all effects of component motion nulled out. A phase measurement of this signal will have only plasma density information in it. With CO{sub 2} lasers, it is possible to find suitable wavelength pairs which are close enough to rational numbers to produce an improvement of about 100 in density resolution, compared to standard two color interferometers

A poloidal field measurement technique: Pitch angle measurements via injected He/sup +/ ions

The poloidal field of a tokamak can be determined by observing the light emitted by He/sup +/ ions injected into the plasma by a perpendicular He/sup 0/ beam. These ions will orbit in small circles located where the neutral atom became ionized, and they will remain there for a few microseconds. During this time, some of these ions will also emit light at various spectral lines. The observed spectrum of any of these lines will have a peculiar and very wide shape, and it will be offset (Doppler shifted) with respect to the natural line location. The location and width of the spectral pattern provide independent information about the components of the poloidal field which are parallel and perpendicular to the beam velocity, and this information is local to the point where the light is emitted. For a horizontal beam, these components are b/sub x/ and b/sub y/, respectively. The difference in Doppler shift between two measurement points above one another (at the top and bottom of the beam) is directly proportional to /delta/b/sub x/, which in turn is proportional to the transform on that flux surface. Thus, this technique provides a means to measure directly local values of q(r). Simulation studies indicate that accurate measurements can be made in milliseconds. 6 refs., 8 figs

Start-up and ramp-up of the PLT tokamak by lower hybrid waves

Lower hybrid waves have been used on the PLT tokamak both to start the plasma current and to ramp it up from pre-existing levels. The waves, at 800 MHz, were launched from a 6-waveguide grill. The phasing between adjacent guides could be selected electronically, and thus the launched spectrum could be set and changed at will. For start-up, the waveguide phase difference was initially set at 0/sup 0/ in order to create a plasma, then switched to 90/sup 0/ to drive the current. Over 100 kA of plasma current, at a density of 0.5 to 1 x 10/sup 12/ cm/sup -3/, was generated in this manner. Ramp-up experiments were performed under a wide variety of conditions. The most efficient ramp-up was found at the lowest plasma densities and with the fastest launched spectrum (n/sub e/ approx. 2 x 10/sup 12/ cm/sup -3/, N/sub parallel/ approx. 1.6 peak); approx.20% of the launched RF power was converted to (increased) poloidal field energy. All of the ramp-up results are in excellent agreement with a theory which determines the efficiency of ramp-up from the consideration of the relative energy losses of the superthermal current-carrying electrons to collisions and to the opposing inductive E-field

ICRF heating on TFTR

The objectives of the ICRF heating program on TFTR are discussed along with a summary of the progress made to date towards achieving those goals. A more detailed analysis of experimental observations of ICRF sawtooth stabilization is given along with a comparison of the data to a theoretical model based on energetic ion stabilization of m=1 kink instabilities. A qualitative correlation is observed between the experimental observations and model predictions, but further development of the theory coupled with more detailed experimental measurements is required in order to gain a quantitative understanding of the phenomenon. 10 refs., 6 figs

Overview of TFTR transport studies

A review of TFTR plasma transport studies is presented. Parallel transport and the confinement of suprathermal ions are found to be relatively well described by theory. Cross-field transport of the thermal plasma, however, is anomalous with the momentum diffusivity being comparable to the ion thermal diffusivity and larger than the electron thermal diffusivity in neutral beam heated discharges. Perturbative experiments have studied non-linear dependencies in the transport coefficients and examined the role of possible non-local phenomena. The underlying turbulence has been studied using microwave scattering, beam emission spectroscopy and microwave reflectometry over a much broader range in k{perpendicular} than previously possible. Results indicate the existence of large-wavelength fluctuations correlated with enhanced transport. MHD instabilities set important operational constraints. However, by modifying the current profile using current ramp-down techniques, it has been possible to extend the operating regime to higher values of both {var epsilon}{beta}{sub p} and normalized {beta}{sub T}. In addition, the interaction of MHD fluctuations with fast ions, of potential relevance to {alpha}-particle confinement in D-T plasmas, has been investigated. The installation of carbon-carbon composite tiles and improvements in wall conditioning, in particular the use of Li pellet injection to reduce the carbon recycling, continue to be important in the improvement of plasma performance. 96 refs., 16 figs

A search for doubly charged higgs production in z0 decays

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