MHD analysis of edge instabilities in the JET tokamak

The aim of nuclear fusion energy research is to demonstrate the feasibility of nuclear fusion reactors as a future energy source. The tokamak is the most advanced fusion machine to date, and is most likely the first system to be converted into a reactor. An important subject of nuclear fusion research is the study of the equilibrium and stability of a plasma with respect to large scale displacements. In a tokamak, several instabilities can occur. A class of edge instabilities that occur in the high confinement regime, H-mode, have been called Edge Localised Modes (ELMs). ELMs are relaxation oscillations that cause quasiperiodic energy and particle losses out of the confined plasma into the scrape-off layer. These losses are of concern for future burning fusion plasmas, such as ITER, due to the large transient heat loads expected on plasma facing components in contact with the scrape-off layer. These heat loads may reduce the target lifetime below tolerable levels. Although the existence of ELMs has been known for many years, their physics is not well understood yet. Much effort has been spent world-wide in an attempt to improve the understanding of these instabilities. A review of the present state of ELM research is given. Empirically, at least three types of ELMs have been identified, which are normally classified as type-I, type-II and type-III ELMs. From the point of view of plasma stability, research has increasingly focussed on the role of certain MHD instabilities, namely (finite-n) ballooning and kink (peeling) modes, as well as coupled ballooning-kink modes, leading to the proposition of a theoretical model called the peeling-ballooning cycle. This thesis presents new insight into ELMs obtained from the analysis of experimental data in the JET tokamak, and compares the observations with present theoretical ELM models. Low frequency coherent type-I ELM precursor modes have been identified. Their properties are studied in detail. Precursors with low toroidal mode numbers are known to be external kink instabilities, while experimental findings and their comparison with stability calculations suggest that the precursor modes with higher toroidal mode numbers are not pure external kinks but coupled ballooning-kink modes. In spite of their regular occurrence, there is no evidence that the precursor mode growth rate accelerates rapidly before the ELM. This is regarded as an indication that external kink modes or coupled peeling-ballooning modes do not trigger the ELMs, which would contradict present theoretical ELM models. Another type of instability are the Washboard (WB) modes, a very common edge instability regularly observed in the H-mode regime in JET. Since their discovery in the late 90s, rather little attention has been paid to them, either theoretically or experimentally. So far they have not been regarded as an ELM-relevant instability. However, evidence for their involvement in the pedestal and ELM dynamics is presented

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Aligning the CMS Muon Chambers with the Muon Alignment System during an Extended Cosmic Ray Run

Peer reviewe

MHD analysis of edge instabilities in the JET tokamak

The aim of nuclear fusion energy research is to demonstrate the feasibility of nuclear fusion reactors as a future energy source. The tokamak is the most advanced fusion machine to date, and is most likely the first system to be converted into a reactor. An important subject of nuclear fusion research is the study of the equilibrium and stability of a plasma with respect to large scale displacements. In a tokamak, several instabilities can occur. A class of edge instabilities that occur in the high confinement regime, H-mode, have been called Edge Localised Modes (ELMs). ELMs are relaxation oscillations that cause quasiperiodic energy and particle losses out of the confined plasma into the scrape-off layer. These losses are of concern for future burning fusion plasmas, such as ITER, due to the large transient heat loads expected on plasma facing components in contact with the scrape-off layer. These heat loads may reduce the target lifetime below tolerable levels. Although the existence of ELMs has been known for many years, their physics is not well understood yet. Much effort has been spent world-wide in an attempt to improve the understanding of these instabilities. A review of the present state of ELM research is given. Empirically, at least three types of ELMs have been identified, which are normally classified as type-I, type-II and type-III ELMs. From the point of view of plasma stability, research has increasingly focussed on the role of certain MHD instabilities, namely (finite-n) ballooning and kink (peeling) modes, as well as coupled ballooning-kink modes, leading to the proposition of a theoretical model called the peeling-ballooning cycle. This thesis presents new insight into ELMs obtained from the analysis of experimental data in the JET tokamak, and compares the observations with present theoretical ELM models. Low frequency coherent type-I ELM precursor modes have been identified. Their properties are studied in detail. Precursors with low toroidal mode numbers are known to be external kink instabilities, while experimental findings and their comparison with stability calculations suggest that the precursor modes with higher toroidal mode numbers are not pure external kinks but coupled ballooning-kink modes. In spite of their regular occurrence, there is no evidence that the precursor mode growth rate accelerates rapidly before the ELM. This is regarded as an indication that external kink modes or coupled peeling-ballooning modes do not trigger the ELMs, which would contradict present theoretical ELM models. Another type of instability are the Washboard (WB) modes, a very common edge instability regularly observed in the H-mode regime in JET. Since their discovery in the late 90s, rather little attention has been paid to them, either theoretically or experimentally. So far they have not been regarded as an ELM-relevant instability. However, evidence for their involvement in the pedestal and ELM dynamics is presented

Confirmation of the topology of the Wendelstein 7-X magnetic field to better than 1:100,000

Fusion energy research has in the past 40 years focused primarily on the tokamak concept, but recent advances in plasma theory and computational power have led to renewed interest in stellarators. The largest and most sophisticated stellarator in the world, Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), has just started operation, with the aim to show that the earlier weaknesses of this concept have been addressed successfully, and that the intrinsic advantages of the concept persist, also at plasma parameters approaching those of a future fusion power plant. Here we show the first physics results, obtained before plasma operation: that the carefully tailored topology of nested magnetic surfaces needed for good confinement is realized, and that the measured deviations are smaller than one part in 100,000. This is a significant step forward in stellarator research, since it shows that the complicated and delicate magnetic topology can be created and verified with the required accuracy

Major results from the first plasma campaign of the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator

\u3cp\u3eAfter completing the main construction phase of Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) and successfully commissioning the device, first plasma operation started at the end of 2015. Integral commissioning of plasma start-up and operation using electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) and an extensive set of plasma diagnostics have been completed, allowing initial physics studies during the first operational campaign. Both in helium and hydrogen, plasma breakdown was easily achieved. Gaining experience with plasma vessel conditioning, discharge lengths could be extended gradually. Eventually, discharges lasted up to 6 s, reaching an injected energy of 4 MJ, which is twice the limit originally agreed for the limiter configuration employed during the first operational campaign. At power levels of 4 MW central electron densities reached 3 10\u3csup\u3e19\u3c/sup\u3e m\u3csup\u3e-3\u3c/sup\u3e, central electron temperatures reached values of 7 keV and ion temperatures reached just above 2 keV. Important physics studies during this first operational phase include a first assessment of power balance and energy confinement, ECRH power deposition experiments, 2nd harmonic O-mode ECRH using multi-pass absorption, and current drive experiments using electron cyclotron current drive. As in many plasma discharges the electron temperature exceeds the ion temperature significantly, these plasmas are governed by core electron root confinement showing a strong positive electric field in the plasma centre.\u3c/p\u3

Measurements of the Total and Differential Higgs Boson Production Cross Sections Combining the H??????? and H???ZZ*???4??? Decay Channels at s\sqrt{s}=8??????TeV with the ATLAS Detector

Measurements of the total and differential cross sections of Higgs boson production are performed using 20.3~fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions produced by the Large Hadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Cross sections are obtained from measured $H \rightarrow \gamma \gamma$ and $H \rightarrow ZZ ^{*}\rightarrow 4\ell$ event yields, which are combined accounting for detector efficiencies, fiducial acceptances and branching fractions. Differential cross sections are reported as a function of Higgs boson transverse momentum, Higgs boson rapidity, number of jets in the event, and transverse momentum of the leading jet. The total production cross section is determined to be $\sigma_{pp \to H} = 33.0 \pm 5.3 \, ({\rm stat}) \pm 1.6 \, ({\rm sys}) \mathrm{pb}$. The measurements are compared to state-of-the-art predictions.Measurements of the total and differential cross sections of Higgs boson production are performed using 20.3  fb-1 of pp collisions produced by the Large Hadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of s=8  TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Cross sections are obtained from measured H→γγ and H→ZZ*→4ℓ event yields, which are combined accounting for detector efficiencies, fiducial acceptances, and branching fractions. Differential cross sections are reported as a function of Higgs boson transverse momentum, Higgs boson rapidity, number of jets in the event, and transverse momentum of the leading jet. The total production cross section is determined to be σpp→H=33.0±5.3 (stat)±1.6 (syst)  pb. The measurements are compared to state-of-the-art predictions.Measurements of the total and differential cross sections of Higgs boson production are performed using 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions produced by the Large Hadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Cross sections are obtained from measured $H \rightarrow \gamma \gamma$ and $H \rightarrow ZZ ^{*}\rightarrow 4\ell$ event yields, which are combined accounting for detector efficiencies, fiducial acceptances and branching fractions. Differential cross sections are reported as a function of Higgs boson transverse momentum, Higgs boson rapidity, number of jets in the event, and transverse momentum of the leading jet. The total production cross section is determined to be $\sigma_{pp \to H} = 33.0 \pm 5.3 \, ({\rm stat}) \pm 1.6 \, ({\rm sys}) \mathrm{pb}$. The measurements are compared to state-of-the-art predictions