A high-resolution, time-resolving soft x-ray multichannel spectrometer (SOXMOS) that permits the simultaneous measurement of emission in two different spectral ranges has been developed and tested extensively for tokamak plasma diagnostics. The basic instrument is a high-resolution, interferometrically adjusted, extreme grazing incidence Schwob–Fraenkel duochromator. The instrument is equipped with two multichannel detectors that are adjusted interferometrically and scan along the Rowland circle. Each consists of an MgF2 coated, funneled microchannel plate, associated with a phosphor screen image intensifier that is coupled to a 1024-element photodiode array by a flexible fiber-optic conduit. The total wavelength coverage of the instrument is 5–340 Å with a measured resolution (FWHM) of about 0.2 Å when equipped with a 600-g/mm grating, and 5–85 Å with a resolution of about 0.06 Å using a 2400-g/mm grating. The simultaneous spectral coverage of each detector varies from 15 Å at the short wavelength limit to 70 Å at the long wavelength limit with the lower dispersion grating. The minimum readout time for a full spectral portion is 16 ms, but several individual lines can be measured with 1-ms time resolution by selected pixel readout. Higher time resolution can be achieved by replacing one multichannel detector with a single channel electron multiplier detector. Examples of data from the PLT and TFTR tokamaks are presented to illustrate the instrument’s versatility, high spectral resolution, and high signal-to-noise ratio even in the 10-Å region.

We report the observation of a correlation between shear Alfvén eigenmode activity and electron transport in plasma regimes where the electron temperature gradient is flat, and thus the drive for temperature gradient microinstabilities is absent. Plasmas having rapid central electron transport show intense, broadband global Alfvén eigenmode (GAE) activity in the 0.5-1.1 MHz range, while plasmas with low transport are essentially GAE-free. The first theoretical assessment of a GAE-electron transport connection indicates that overlapping modes can resonantly couple to the bulk thermal electrons and induce their stochastic diffusion.

Brightness profiles of x-ray and VUV lines from eight molybdenum charge states between Mo 23+ and Mo 33+ have been measured in Alcator C-Mod plasmas. These spatial profiles agree very well with those predicted by a model which includes ionization, recombination, excitation and transport. Comparison with the profiles of many different charge states provides severe constraints upon the rates used in the model. The charge state density profiles are calculated using measured impurity transport coefficients, measured electron density and temperature profiles and newly calculated ionization and recombination rate coefficients. These new rate coefficients include direct collisional ionization, excitation-autoionization, dielectronic and radiative recombination. Excitation-autoionization is shown to be an important process, since the excellent agreement between the measurements and predictions is obtained only with its inclusion. Fits to newly calculated excitation rate coefficients for the transitions are also presented.

Narrow (4A, & 5 A), intense quasicontinuum bands, appearing in emission spectra of highly ion-0 ized rare-earth elements between 70 and 100 A, previously observed in tokamaks and laser-produced plasmas, have been obtained from a low-inductance vacuum spark. The bands shift toward shorter wavelengths with increasing atomic number Z. Using the unresolved transition array model, these bands are identified as primarily 4d 4f tra-nsitions in Rht to Rbtlike ions, although the widths come out too large and the mean wavelengths are much too dependent on ionization stages. Detailed ab initio computations show that the interactions between the 4p 4d '4f and 4p 41 +' configurations are responsible for the narrowing and the superposition of the transition arrays for the different ionization stages of a given element, in agreement with experimental data.

Research on the National Spherical Torus Experiment, NSTX, targets physics understanding needed for extrapolation to a steady-state ST Fusion Nuclear Science Facility, pilot plant, or DEMO. The unique ST operational space is leveraged to test physics theories for next-step tokamak operation, including ITER. Present research also examines implications for the coming device upgrade, NSTX-U. An energy confinement time, τ E , scaling unified for varied wall conditions exhibits a strong improvement of B T τ E with decreased electron collisionality, accentuated by lithium (Li) wall conditioning. This result is consistent with nonlinear microtearing simulations that match the experimental electron diffusivity quantitatively and predict reduced electron heat transport at lower collisionality. Beam-emission spectroscopy measurements in the steep gradient region of the pedestal indicate the poloidal correlation length of turbulence of about ten ion gyroradii increases at higher electron density gradient and lower T i gradient, consistent with turbulence caused by trapped electron instabilities. Density fluctuations in the pedestal top region indicate ion-scale microturbulence compatible with ion temperature gradient and/or kinetic ballooning mode instabilities. Plasma characteristics change nearly continuously with increasing Li evaporation and edge localized modes (ELMs) stabilize due to edge density gradient alteration. Global mode stability studies show stabilizing resonant kinetic effects are enhanced at lower collisionality, but in stark contrast have almost no dependence on collisionality when the plasma is off-resonance. Combined resistive wall mode radial and poloidal field sensor feedback was used to control n = 1 perturbations and improve stability. The disruption probability due to unstable resistive wall modes (RWMs) was surprisingly reduced at very high β N /l i > 10 consistent with low frequency magnetohydrodynamic spectroscopy measurements of mode stability. Greater instability seen at intermediate β N is consistent with decreased kinetic RWM stabilization. A model-based RWM state-space controller produced long-pulse discharges exceeding β N = 6.4 and β N /l i = 13. Precursor analysis shows 96.3% of disruptions can be predicted with 10 ms warning and a false positive rate of only 2.8%. Disruption halo currents rotate toroidally and can have significant toroidal asymmetry. of this phenomenon in designing future RF systems. The snowflake divertor configuration enhanced by radiative detachment showed large reductions in both steady-state and ELM heat fluxes (ELMing peak values down from 19 MW m −2 to less than 1.5 MW m −2 ). Toroidal asymmetry of heat deposition was observed during ELMs or by 3D fields. The heating power required for accessing H-mode decreased by 30% as the triangularity was decreased by moving the X-point to larger radius, consistent with calculations of the dependence of E × B shear in the edge region on ion heat flux and X-point radius. Co-axial helicity injection reduced the induct...

In the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) [M. Ono et al., Nucl. Fusion 40, 557 (2000)], plasmas with strongly reversed magnetic shear, s≡(r∕q)(dq∕dr)<0, in the plasma core exhibit a marked improvement in electron confinement compared to otherwise similar plasmas with positive or only weakly reversed magnetic shear. The q profile itself is determined by the early evolution of the plasma current, the plasma cross section, and the neutral-beam heating power. In the region of shear reversal, the electron thermal diffusivity can be significantly reduced. Detailed experimental investigation of this phenomenon has been made possible by the successful development of a motional Stark effect (MSE) polarimetry diagnostic suitable for the low magnetic field in NSTX, typically 0.35–0.55T. Measurements of the electron and ion temperature, density, and plasma toroidal rotation profiles are also available with high spatial and temporal resolution for analysis of the plasma transport properties.

Abstract. Recent experiments in the Current Drive eXperiment -Upgrade (CDX-U) providea first-ever test of large area liquid lithium surfaces as a tokamak first wall, to gain engineering experience with a liquid metal first wall, and to investigate whether very low recycling plasma regimes can be accessed with lithium walls. The CDX-U is a compact (R=34 cm, a=22 cm, B toroidal = 2 kG, I P =100 kA, T e (0)~100 eV, n e (0)~ 5 10 19 m -3 ) spherical torus at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. A toroidal liquid lithium pool limiter with an area of 2000 cm 2 (half the total plasma limiting surface) has been installed in CDX-U.Tokamak discharges which used the liquid lithium pool limiter required a fourfold lower loop voltage to sustain the plasma current, and a factor of 5-8 increase in gas fueling to achieve a comparable density, indicating that recycling is strongly reduced. Modeling of the discharges demonstrated that the lithium limited discharges are consistent with Z effective <1.2 (compared to 2.4 for the pre-lithium discharges), a broadened current channel, and a 25% increase in the core electron temperature. Spectroscopic measurements indicate that edge oxygen and carbon radiation are strongly reduced.

The radiative cooling coefficient for molybdenum (Z=42) in a low density (ne ≲ 1015 cm-3) plasma is calculated. First, the molybdenum charge state distribution (CSD) is computed using the best available atomic physics data for ground state recombination and ionization, including the rates of excitation-autoionization for Mo6+ to Mo13+ and Mo23+ to Mo32+. The emissivities of Mo4+ to Mo41+ are then found using a collisional-radiative model such that the contributions from metastable levels to an ion's emissivity are taken into account. The CSD and the radiative emissivity for all molybdenum ions are combined to yield the total radiative cooling coefficient for molybdenum in a low density plasma. A radiative loss coefficient over 2 orders of magnitude smaller than that predicted by an `average ion' model for temperatures relevant to tokamak divertor and scrape-off layer plasmas (Te ≲ 50 eV) is found. The cooling coefficient of the present work varies from a factor of 2 smaller to a factor of 2 larger than that predicted by the `average ion' model for all other plasma temperatures. The coefficient calculated in the present work is benchmarked against the measured bolometric loss profile from a molybdenum dominated shot in the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU)