Magnetic configuration scans during divertor operation of Wendelstein 7-X

Wendelstein 7-X (Greifswald, Germany) is an advanced stellarator, which uses the modular coil concept to realize a magnetic configuration optimized for fusion-relevant plasma properties. The magnet system of the machine allows a variation of the rotational transform (iota) at the boundary. In the latest Wendelstein 7-X operational phase a dedicated configuration scan has been performed varying the rotational transform between magnetic configurations with iota=5/4 and iota=5/5 at the boundary. This paper presents an overview of the experiments and of the main results with respect to confinement and stability. The main observation is an increase of the plasma energy in several intermediate configurations of the scan when the 5/5-islands are close to the plasma boundary but still inside the last-closed-flux-surface. In addition, these configurations showed marked MHD-activity with a crashing behavior related to the 5/5-islands. The corresponding mode amplitude was correlated with the size of the internal 5/5 islands.

Orbit Classification and Sensitivity Analysis in Dynamical Systems Using Surrogate Models

Dynamics of many classical physics systems are described in terms of Hamilton’s equations. Commonly, initial conditions are only imperfectly known. The associated volume in phase space is preserved over time due to the symplecticity of the Hamiltonian flow. Here we study the propagation of uncertain initial conditions through dynamical systems using symplectic surrogate models of Hamiltonian flow maps. This allows fast sensitivity analysis with respect to the distribution of initial conditions and an estimation of local Lyapunov exponents (LLE) that give insight into local predictability of a dynamical system. In Hamiltonian systems, LLEs permit a distinction between regular and chaotic orbits. Combined with Bayesian methods we provide a statistical analysis of local stability and sensitivity in phase space for Hamiltonian systems. The intended application is the early classification of regular and chaotic orbits of fusion alpha particles in stellarator reactors. The degree of stochastization during a given time period is used as an estimate for the probability that orbits of a specific region in phase space are lost at the plasma boundary. Thus, the approach offers a promising way to accelerate the computation of fusion alpha particle losses.

Dust dynamics during the plasma afterglow

The charge and dynamics of dust particles in an afterglow plasma are studied using a 1D model in the diffusion approximation, taking into account the transition from ambipolar to free diffusion. It is analyzed how external conditions (dust particle size, neutral gas pressure and initial electron density) affect the dust motion. The dust particle dynamics has been examined in microgravity conditions and in presence of gravity. Without gravity, the location of dust particles in plasma volume may change essentially during the afterglow if the dust size and pressure are small (≤ 10 nm and ≤ 30 mTorr, respectively). At small pressures, in the very beginning of afterglow, small nanoparticles move to the plasma boundary because the ion drag force dominates over the electric force. At afterglow times when the electron temperature becomes time-independent, the ion drag force decreases faster with time than the electric force due to the ion density decrease, and dust particles may move to the slab center. In presence of gravity, the effect of gravity force on dust particles is important only at large afterglow times (t ≥ 10 ms), when the electric and ion drag forces are small. The dust dynamics depends essentially on the initial plasma density. If the density is large (~ 1012 cm-3), small nanoparticles (≤ 10 nm) may deposit on plasma walls in the beginning of plasma afterglow because of an enhancement of the ion drag force.

Gas-discharge plasma application for ion-beam treatment of the holes’ inner surfaces

The possibility to modify the holes and pipes’ inner surface with focused high-intensity low-energy ion beams was first shown in this work. The studies were carried out using an axially symmetric single-grid system for the ions’ extraction from a free plasma boundary with subsequent ballistic focusing of the ion beam. Ion implantation of the inner surface was carried out in the region of the ion beam defocusing. The studies considered the effect of a nitrogen ions’ beam with energy of 1.4 keV on the inner surface of a tube with a diameter of 20 mm made of stainless steel AISI 321. The beams were formed with a repetition rate of 40 kHz and pulse durations of 5, 7.5 and 10 μs. It is shown that the mutual deposition of the sputtered material on the tube’ opposite sides partly compensates for ion sputtering. As a result of implantation of the inner surface of a pipe made of stainless steel AISI 321, the nitride layers with a thickness of more than 15 microns with a nitrogen dopant content of 22-30 at.% were obtained.

Effect of constant collision mean free time on the boundary layer of the active collisional warm plasma

The plasma boundary layer is analyzed for a plasma in contact with a conducting plain surface where the ion temperature is comparable with the electron temperature and the plasma pressure is sufficiently high. The variations of electrical potential from the plasma-presheath boundary to the wall is studied using the fluidal formalism of plasma in three approaches; plasma and sheath asymptotic solutions and full solution. In the full solution approach, fluidal equations lead to a singularity when the ion velocity reaches the ion thermal speed. It is shown that removing the singularity causes a well-defined eigenvalue problem and leads to smooth solutions for the model equations. Some of the applicable aspects such as the floating velocity and density of ions, the floating electrical potential and an estimation of the floating thickness of the boundary layer are obtained. The dependency of these quantities on the ionization degree, the ion temperature and ion-neutral collision is examined too.

Electron acceleration by the lower-hybrid-drift instability at Mercury: an extended quasilinear model

<p>Density inhomogeneities are ubiquitous in space and astrophysical plasmas, in particular at contact boundaries between different media. They often correspond to regions that exhibits strong dynamics on a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Indeed, density inhomogeneities are a source of free energy that can drive various plasma instabilities such as, for instance, the lower-hybrid-drift instability<strong> </strong>which in turn transfers energy to the particles through wave-particle interactions and eventually heats the plasma. Here, we address the role of this instability in the Hermean plasma environment were kinetic processes of this fashion are expected to be crucial in the plasma dynamics and have so far eluded the measurements of past missions (Mariner-X and MESSENGER) to Mercury. <br />The goal of our work is to quantify the efficiency of the lower-hybrid-drift instability to accelerate and/or heat electrons parallel to the ambient magnetic field.<br />To reach this goal, we combine two complementary methods: full-kinetic and quasilinear models.<br />We report self-consistent evidence of electron acceleration driven by the development of the lower-hybrid-drift instability using 3D-3V full-kinetic numerical simulations. The efficiency of the observed acceleration cannot be explained by standard quasilinear theory. For this reason, we develop an extended quasilinear model able to quantitatively predict the interaction between lower-hybrid fluctuations and electrons on long time scales, now in agreement with full-kinetic simulations results. Finally, we apply this new, extended quasilinear model to a specific inhomogeneous space plasma boundary: the magnetopause of Mercury, and we discuss our quantitative predictions of electron acceleration in support to future BepiColombo observations.</p>