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At least 91 records · Page 5

Heavy ion beam probe for Wendelstein 7-X measurement capabilities as projected through its design

A heavy ion beam probe (HIBP) diagnostic is being developed for studies of plasma equilibrium and turbulence in the optimized Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) stellarator. Operation of W7-X has experimentally demonstrated that its optimized magnetic field results in improved neoclassical particle confinement and, as a result, turbulence is the predominant cause of energy transport. The HIBP will have the unique ability to provide experimental data needed to complement models of both neoclassical and turbulent transport. It will acquire direct measurements in the W7-X plasma interior of the electric potential (needed for understanding ambipolar particle flux) and fluctuations of electron density and potential (needed for understanding turbulence). The HIBP for W7-X will inject singly charged ion beams with energies of up to 2 MeV and is designed to access the upper cross section of the W7-X plasma. We use trajectory simulations to illustrate the plasma coverage that the diagnostic can achieve in the reference magnetic configurations of W7-X. We calculate beam signal levels, discuss anticipated measurement sensitivity of broadband fluctuations of electron density and plasma potential, and show how they depend on plasma density. We also discuss the diagnostic sensitivity to equilibrium plasma potential.

Instruments & Instrumentation↗

Longitudinal Emittance Measurements at PIP2IT

The PIP-II particle accelerator is a new upgrade to the Fermilab accelerator complex, featuring an 800-MeV H⁻ superconducting linear accelerator that will inject the beam into the present Fermilab Booster. A test accelerator known as PIP-II Injector Test (PIP2IT) has been built to validate the concept of the front-end of PIP-II. One of the paramount challenges of PIP2IT was to demonstrate a low longitudinal emittance at the end of the front end. Having a low longitudinal emittance is crucial in order to ensure the stability of the beam in the accelerator. We present a longitudinal emittance calculation at 14.3 MeV at the SSR1-8 cavity in the High Energy Transport line (HEBT). The signal is collected by a Fast Faraday Cup (FFC) at the end of HEBT and recorded by a high-bandwidth oscilloscope.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Bunch Extinction Measurements at PIP-II Injector Test Facility

The PIP2 particle accelerator is a new upgrade to the Fermilab accelerator complex, featuring an 800-MeV H-superconducting linear accelerator that will inject the beam into the present Fermilab Booster. A test accelerator known as PIP-II Injector Test (PIP2IT) has been built to validate the concept of the front-end of such a machine. One of the paramount challenges of PIP2IT was to validate the bunch by bunch chopping system in the Medium Energy Beam Transport (MEBT). This paper aims to present the direct extinction measurements at PIP2IT and their analysis. These measurements have been taken by two Resistive Wall Current Monitors (RWCM) and recorded by a high bandwidth oscilloscope.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Customized Bayesian optimization for efficient beam tuning at the facility for rare isotope beams

Bayesian optimization (BO) has recently emerged as a powerful approach for on-line beam tuning, and it is rapidly gaining adoption across accelerator facilities due to its flexibility and efficiency in handling complex optimization tasks. At the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, rapid and reliable tuning is essential to support the delivery of diverse ion species. To improve the practicality of BO in this setting, we implemented several enhancements, including scalarized composite objective construction for multicriteria optimization, asynchronous evaluation for better resource utilization, prior-mean-assisted optimization to accelerate convergence, and a local search strategy for rapid completion of the task. We present the details of these methods, discuss challenges-encountered, and share our experience applying them to specific beam-tuning tasks.

Accelerators & storage rings↗

Visualization of Fast Ion Phase-Space Flow Driven by Alfvén Instabilities

Fast ion phase-space flow, driven by Alfven eigenmodes (AEs), is measured by an imaging neutral particle analyzer in the DIII-D tokamak. The flow firstly appears near the minimum safety factor at the injection energy of neutral beams, and then moves radially inward and outward by gaining and losing energy, respectively. The flow trajectories in phase space align well with the intersection lines of the constant magnetic moment surfaces and constant E – (ω/n)P ζ surfaces, where E, P ζ are energy and toroidal canonical momentum of ions; ω and n are angular frequencies and toroidal mode numbers of AEs. It is found that the flow is so destructive that the thermalization of fast ions is no longer observed in regions of strong interaction. Here, the measured phase-space flow is consistent with nonlinear hybrid kinetic-magnetohydrodynamics simulation. Calculations of the relatively narrow phase-space islands reveal that fast ions must transition between different flow trajectories to experience large-scale phase-space transport.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

PFPO plasma scenarios for exploration of long pulse operation in ITER

Long Pulse Scenarios (LPS) in ITER foreseen during the Pre-Fusion Power Operation (PFPO) phase of the ITER Research Plan (IRP) are assessed using 1.5D transport simulations within the ASTRA framework. Such assessment is required to predict the operational space for LPS operation in PFPO, as well as to evaluate which physics processes for LPS operation during Fusion Power Operation (FPO) could be studied during PFPO. An important aspect in the development of LPSs in PFPO is to minimize lifetime consumption of the Central Solenoid (CS) for these scenarios. The maximum pulse length achievable for LPSs in PFPO with no consumption of CS lifetime (currents in CS coils $⩽$30 kA per turn) has been assessed for a range of heating schemes and heating mixes, confinement regimes (L-mode and H-mode) and for helium and hydrogen plasmas. The operational space of LPS and pulse length has been explored through density scans with the Heating and Current Drive mix required for the FPO Q $⩾$ 5 steady-state plasma scenario (namely Neutral Beam Injection and Electron Cyclotron Heating) including acceptable shine through losses on the first wall for both helium and hydrogen plasmas. Fast particle physics aspects that are common between FPO plasmas and LPS PFPO H-mode plasmas at low densities are studied including MHD stability analysis with the KINX code and non-perturbative critical gradient model based on high-n Toroidal Alfven Eigenmodes (TAE) stability kinetic ballooning code HINST calculations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Dynamic Aperture of the PIP-II Accumulator Ring (PAR)

The Proton Improvement Plan-II (PIP-II) will include a superconducting linear accelerator which will accelerate H- ions to 800MeV, at an intensity never seen before. A proposed PIP-II Accumulator Ring (PAR) can reduce the injection losses to the booster, enhance the ramp up of the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) and support experiments in Dark Sector Physics. When the beam is circulating in PAR at its full intensity, it will then be transferred to the Booster via single turn injection. Strong PAR focusing results in larger phase advances, shorter focal lengths and higher machine tunes, which creates robust beam envelope control. Particles will be able to survive modest excursions from the elliptical phase-space trajectories of linear optics, and any loss of particles would be due to reduced dynamic aperture. The values for tunes and chromaticities are flexible and will continue to evolve as the lattice matures. Since there will be non-linear terms impacting the particles’ trajectories, tracking will include realistic magnetic field errors and installation alignment errors to determine the dynamic aperture as a function of the machine tunes. This will allow us to determine the optimum operating point in phase-space.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Collisionless losses of fast ions in the Divertor Tokamak Test due to toroidal field ripple

In this paper we analyze fast ion motion in the Divertor Tokamak Test device. DTT is planned to be heated through a mix of 45 MW heating power, including 15 MW negative-ion-based Neutral Beam heating (NNBI) which is currently being developed by Consorzio RFX in Padova, Italy. An issue for DTT is that a Toroidal Field (TF) ripple with a maximum value of about 0.42% (with respect to the on-axis magnetic field $B_0$) is expected on the low-field side (LFS), and this ripple interacts with fast ions through rather well-known phenomena of ripple-precession resonances, in addition to prompt losses of ions which do not complete a full orbit in the poloidal plane. We will show that, with the planned geometry of NNBI, prompt losses are negligible, and ripple-precession losses amount to a maximum 0.15%. The calculations are performed with the guiding center code ORBIT using two different equilibria, and a beam with energy 400 keV and injection angle $\alpha_{inj} = 40^{\circ}$ (measured w.r.t. the first wall), which corresponds to a pitch of injected particles $\lambda = v_{\parallel}/v \approx \sin{\alpha_{inj}} = 0.65$. Main resonances are of the form $\omega_b - n N \omega_d = 0$, $\omega_b$ and $\omega_d$ being the bounce and precession frequency, respectively, $N=18$ the ripple periodicity and $3 \le n \le 6$ are the toroidal wavenumbers of the resonances. Although collisionless interaction with the TF ripple does not pose a serious threat to the NNBI project, an open question remains whether the presence of these resonances will interact with fast particles accelerated by \alfven eigenmodes, and if stochastization of the resonances is possible in DTT, as it was observed in the past in TORE SUPRA.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Exploring the Dynamics of Transverse Inter-planar Coupling in the SC Section of the PIP-II Linac

This study investigates the crucial role that an accurate understanding of inter-planar coupling in the transverse plane plays in regulating charged particle dynamics in a high-intensity linear accelerator and minimizing foil/septum impacts during injection from the linac to a ring. We in-depth analyze the emergence and evolution of transverse inter-planar coupling through multiple active lattice elements, taking into account space charge and field nonlinearities in the superconducting section of the PIP-II linac. The article compares various analytical, numerical, and experimental techniques for measuring transverse coupling using beam and lattice matrices and provides insight into effective strategies for its mitigation prior to ring injection.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Exploring the Dynamics of Transverse Inter-planar Coupling in the Superconducting Section of the PIP-II LINAC

This study investigates the crucial role that an accurate understanding of inter-planar coupling in the transverse plane plays in regulating charged particle dynamics in a high intensity linear accelerator and minimizing foil/septum impacts during injection from the linac to a ring. We performed an in-depth analysis for the emergence and evolution of trans verse inter-planar coupling through multiple active lattice elements, taking into account space charge and field nonlinearities in the superconducting section of the PIP-II linac. The article compares various analytical, numerical, and experimental techniques for measuring transverse coupling using beam and lattice matrices and provides insight into effective strategies for its mitigation prior to ring injection.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Visualization of phase-space orbit topological boundary using imaging neutral particle analyzer

A newly-developed imaging neutral particle analyzer (INPA) in the DIII-D tokamak interrogates phase space occupied by fast ions on multiple different orbit topologies, including passing, stagnation, trapped and potato orbits. Depending on plasma parameters and beam injection geometries, this new INPA system is capable of visualizing distributions of fast ions on the selected orbit topology and its associated orbit topology boundaries. More importantly, the system is able to directly visualize the pitch angle scattering process in phase space by measuring fast ions that are scattered across the trapped-passing orbit topology boundaries. It also enables visualization of fast ion confined-loss boundaries, which are determined by particle energy, plasma current and magnetic field.The key goal of this new INPA system is to directly measure pitch angle scattering across phase space induced by drift waves and its interaction with Alfv'en eigenmodes, i.e., a key issue towards \redit{a} future fusion power plant.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Investigation of mode activity in NBI-heated experiments of Wendelstein 7-X

The 2018 operation phase (OP 1.2b) of the stellarator Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) included, for the first time, neutral beam injection (NBI) to heat the plasma. Since the injection geometry at W7-X is not parallel, this generates both passing and trapped fast particles. During longer phases of NBI injection, with the primary purpose to study the heating efficiency of this system, Alfvén eigenmodes (AEs) were observed by a number of diagnostics, including the phase contrast imaging (PCI) system, the magnetic pick-up coils (Mirnov coils), and the soft x-ray multi-camera tomography system (XMCTS). Alfvén eigenmodes are of great interest for future fusion reactors as it has been shown that the resonant interaction of fast ions with self-excited AEs can lead to enhanced transport of fast ions and potentially to energy losses. This is especially true for so-called gap-modes, Alfvén eigenmodes with frequencies in gaps of the continuous spectrum, since they lack continuum damping. These modes are commonly known to be excited by fast ions, but other destabilizing mechanisms, e.g. the electron-pressure gradient are also possible. In this article we present a first analysis of the experimentally observed frequencies from the theoretical side. The calculation of shear Alfvén wave continua for selected cases and the assignment of observed frequencies to the gaps of the continuous spectra are presented. Using the ideal-MHD code CKA (Könies A. 2007 10th IAEA TM on Energetic Particles in Magnetic Confinement System), we find gap modes that match the experimental measurements in terms of the observed frequencies. We emphasize the crucial roles played by the coupling of sound and Alfvén waves as well as of the Doppler shift arising as a consequence of the radial electric field in W7-X. We employ the perturbative gyrokinetic code CKA-EUTERPE (Feh´er 2013 Simulation of the interaction between Alfv´en waves and fast particles), using a slowing-down distribution function for the fast ions as calculated by the Monte-Carlo particle following code ASCOT (Hirvijoki et al 2014 Comput. Phys. Commun. 185 1310–21) to assess the fast-ion drive. Here we find that the fast-ion drive is insufficient to overcome the background-plasma damping. The fact that unstable modes were observed experimentally may point to problems with the modelling or indicate the existence of other destabilizing mechanisms, e.g. associated with the electron-pressure gradient (Windisch et al 2017 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 59 105002) that sensitively depend on the profiles of the background plasma.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Laser and electron deflection from transverse asymmetries in laser-plasma accelerators

Here, we report on the deflection of laser pulses and accelerated electrons in a laser-plasma accelerator (LPA) by the effects of laser pulse front tilt and transverse density gradients. Asymmetry in the plasma index of refraction leads to laser steering, which can be due to a density gradient or spatiotemporal coupling of the laser pulse. The transverse forces from the skewed plasma wave can also lead to electron deflection relative to the laser. Quantitative models are proposed for both the laser and electron steering, which are confirmed by particle-in-cell simulations. Experiments with the BELLA Petawatt Laser are presented which show controllable 0.1-1 mrad laser and electron beam deflection from laser pulse front tilt. This has potential applications for electron beam pointing control, which is of paramount importance for LPA applications.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Validation of a synthetic fast ion loss detector model for Wendelstein 7-X

Abstract We present the first validated synthetic diagnostic for fast ion loss detectors (FILDs) in the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) stellarator. This model has been developed on, and validated against experimental data from, a FILD provided by the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS-FILD), with potential future applicability to the existing Faraday Cup FILD (FC-FILD) on W7-X as well as the scintillating FILD (S-FILD) currently under development. A workflow combining Monte Carlo codes BEAMS3D and ASCOT5 is used to track fast ions produced by neutral beam injection from the moment of ionization until they are thermalized or lost from the last closed flux surface, and from there to a virtual plane which serves as a projection of the entrance aperture to the FILD. Simulations in ASCOT5 are analyzed via a geometric method to determine the probability of transmission through the FILD aperture and onto the detector as a function of normalized momentum, pitch angle, gyrophase, and position at the virtual plane. This probability is then applied to the simulated ions arriving from the plasma, producing a simulated signal from a computationally tractable number of simulated fast ions. Simulated signals are presented for two W7-X experiments with neutral beam injection and quantitatively compared with experimental measurements from the NIFS-FILD diagnostic. An estimate of the frequency of charge-exchange with neutral particles in the edge is performed, and it is found that this process may have a significant impact on the measured signals.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Modeling LANSCE Line D and RI Beamlines in Elegant and Impact-T

This technical report describes models in Elegant and Impact-T of two LANSCE high-energy beamlines: LineD and Ring Injection. These two beamlines transport the 800 MeV H- beam from the exit of the 805 MHz Linac to the entrance of the PSR. Computer models of all LANSCE high-energy beamlines exist in Transport but include a limited model of the space charge forces. A motivation for using Elegant as an optional beam dynamics code is that the existing model of the PSR is in Elegant, therefore enabling the modeling of the full beam injection scheme. Also, Elegant is a modern code being used by a large accelerator physics community which makes the calculation results more reliable. The drawback is that Elegant has also a limited space charge force model. Therefore, we have opted to include the Particle-In-Cell (PIC) code Impact-T as an alternate beam dynamics code to verify the Elegant calculations. We will use the new Line D and RI models to study beam halo in the transport leading into the PSR, and to evaluate collimation schemes as part of the PSR upgrade. The new models can also be readily used in support of other LANSCE activities.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

6D Simulations of PIP-II Booster Injection

The PIP-II superconducting linac will deliver 2 mA average H⁻ beam current at 800 MeV to the existing Booster synchrotron over a period of 0.55 ms (285 turns). As a result, the injected beam power will quadruple to 17 kW. Safe operation at the increased beam power implies careful attention to the origin, magnitude, and distribution of both controlled and uncontrolled losses. Uncontrolled losses are due to neutral ions in excited states stripped in downstream magnets and large angle scattered protons from parasitic foil hits. The relative magnitudes of these loss mechanisms is used to determine the optimal foil thickness. A transverse painting scheme involving closed orbit motion will be used to mitigate space charge effects and minimize parasitic foil hits. Using a detailed full 6D simulation of the injection process, we compute large angle scattering losses and compare results to back of the envelope estimates. We investigate possible impact of space charge on the emittance and beam distribution both during and at the conclusion of the injection period.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗