Persistence of deuterium and tritium nuclear spin-polarization in presence of high-frequency plasma waves
We present first-principles numerical calculations of the depolarization rate of spin-polarized deuterium and tritium nuclei in realistic tokamak plasmas, driven by resonant interactions with plasma waves. Backed up by first-of-a-kind linear and nonlinear simulations, we find that alpha particle-driven Alfvénic modes cause only negligible depolarization, which is contrary to expectations in prior literature. Other Alfvénic instabilities can in principle degrade polarization, but only under conditions unlikely to be realized on transport timescales. By combining full-orbit particle tracing with a dedicated depolarization solver, we demonstrate that wave-driven depolarization is surprisingly weak in SPARC and ITER-scale devices. These results provide strong evidence that spin-polarized fuel can maintain its polarization long enough to boost fusion reactivity, opening a viable path toward substantially enhanced performance in magnetic confinement fusion power plants.