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DOE OSTI2020

Analytic stability boundaries for compressional and global Alfvén eigenmodes driven by fast ions. I. Interaction via ordinary and anomalous cyclotron resonances

Conditions for net fast ion drive are derived for beam-driven, sub-cyclotron compressional (CAE) and global (GAE) Alfvén eigenmodes, such as those routinely observed in spherical tokamaks such as NSTX(-U) and MAST. Both co- and counter-propagating CAEs and GAEs are investigated, driven by the ordinary and anomalous Doppler-shifted cyclotron resonance with fast ions. Whereas prior results were restricted to vanishingly narrow distributions in velocity space, broad parameter regimes are identified in this work which enable an analytic treatment for realistic fast ion distributions generated by neutral beam injection. The simple, approximate conditions derived in these regimes for beam distributions of realistic width compare well to the numerical evaluation of the full analytic expressions for fast ion drive. Additionally, previous results in the very narrow beam case are corrected and generalized to retain all terms in ω/ω ci and |k ∥ /k ⊥ |, which are often assumed to be small parameters but can significantly modify the conditions of drive and damping when they are non-negligible. Lastly, favorable agreement is demonstrated between the approximate stability criterion, simulation results, and a large database of NSTX observations of cntr-GAEs.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

SimELIT: A Novel GUI-Based Comprehensive Ion Trajectory Simulation Software for Mass Spectrometry

Ion trajectory simulation in mass spectrometry systems from injection to detection is technically challenging but very important for better understanding the ion dynamics in instrument development. Here, in this work, we present SimELIT (Simulator of Eulerian and Lagrangian Ion Trajectories), a novel ion trajectory simulation platform. SimELIT is built upon a suite of multiphysics solvers compiled into OpenFOAM (an open-source numerical solver library particularly used for computational mechanics), with a simple web-based graphical user interface (GUI) allowing users to define the details of OpenFOAM cases and run simulations. SimELIT is a modular program and can provide extensions of physics (e.g., gas flows, electrodynamic fields) and thus enable ion trajectory simulations from the ion source to detector. The current version (SimELIT) provides two numerical solvers for ion trajectory simulations–(1) a Lagrangian particle tracker in vacuum and (2) a Eulerian ion density solver in background gas in the presence of electric fields. Here, we describe the architecture of SimELIT, including its use of Docker and the React Framework, and demonstrate the computation of ion trajectories of multiple m/z values in a static/linear voltage drop in vacuum (across a 1 m long flight tube). Further, the drift motion of ions under 1 Torr pressure conditions in a static background (N 2 ) gas through a 20 V/cm static electric field is shown. The results produced from SimELIT were compared with SIMION and theoretical estimates. In addition, we report the computation of ion trajectories in electrodynamic fields within a planar FAIMS device operating at atmospheric pressure.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2020

Scanning Kelvin Probe Microscopy Reveals That Ion Motion Varies with Dimensionality in 2D Halide Perovskites

We study ion migration in 2D lead halide perovskites of varying dimensionality using scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM). We perform potentiometry on micrometer-scale lateral junctions in the absence of injected charge, and we compare how ion motion varies between prototypical two-dimensional n-butylammonium lead iodide perovskites (BA 2 PbI 4 , n = 1), and methylammonium-incorporated quasi-2D perovskites (BA 2 MA 3 Pb 4 I 13 , ~ < n > = 4) under the effects of illumination and temperature. We attribute the observed slow dynamics to relaxation of the bias-induced ionic charge distributions at different temperatures, and we extract the activation energies associated with the ionic motion in each case. Lastly, we propose an explanation for these phenomena by hypothesizing that ion motion in purely-2D BA 2 PbI 4 perovskite films is dominated by paired halide and halide vacancy, whereas for quasi-2D BA 2 MA 3 Pb 4 I 13 perovskites, the ion motion is a combination of both halide and methylammonium (vacancy) migration. These data show that dimensionality in these systems plays a critical role in ion dynamics.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2025

Fast ion stabilization of tilt in large radius FRCs

The field reversed configuration (FRC) has been a curious case in plasma physics research in that early MHD analysis suggested FRCs should be grossly unstable, while experimental results contradicted that prediction. Later, this theory was able to resolve this contradiction by understanding that finite Larmor radius effects largely negated the MHD predictions. Similarly, previous theoretical studies of beam driven FRCs predicted that such system would be unstable to beam driven modes while, again, experimental results indicated the contradiction. In this paper, we reconcile the theoretical understanding of beam driven modes with experimental observations of stability in these systems. By self-consistently capturing fast ion generation from neutral beam injection and its impact on the plasma equilibrium, we show that low amplitude perturbations in the magnetic field, driven by betatron particles, modify the precession frequencies of the betatron particles such that the drive for compressional Alfvén waves in the thermal plasma is reduced. Finally, we are able to demonstrate, for the first time, stable beam driven FRC evolution at high S*/E in 3D kinetic simulations.

Betatrons↗

DOE OSTI2024

Impact of gas injection location and divertor surface material on ITER fusion power operation phase divertor performance assessed with SOLPS-ITER *

Abstract The ITER divertor design and performance assessment, primarily based on the SOLPS-4.3 burning plasma database (Pitts R. et al 2019 Nucl. Mater. Energy 20 100696), assumes the use of beryllium (Be) as the divertor surface material and the injection of gas from the main chamber top. However, the current ITER baseline favors gas injection from the more toroidally symmetric sub-divertor region. This paper evaluates the implications of these assumptions for divertor performance in the ITER fusion power operation phase. The impact of the divertor surface material and the gas injection location on the main ions mirrors the hydrogen only low power phase scenario shown in Park J.-S. et al (2020 Nucl. Fusion 61 016021). However, during burning plasma operation, extrinsic impurity seeding will be required. In the case of neon (Ne), studied here, impurity retention is influenced by both the divertor surface material and the fueling location. Neon leakage increases due to more energetic reflection from tungsten than beryllium, but equivalent divertor performance can be achieved by adjusting the neon seeding rate. While the impurity seeding location does not affect the distributions of impurity or radiation, the fueling location does. Top fueling provides local ionization sources mainly in the mid-SOL under detached conditions, enhancing divergences of the flux there (source-driven flow), bringing stagnation points close to the fueling location, and equilibrating flows towards both targets. In contrast, the global flow pattern (in the absence of fluid drifts) in the case of sub-divertor fueling is biased towards the inner target. Impurity flows, driven by force balance, largely mirror those of the main ion flow, including the stagnation point. The case with top fueling enhances Ne retention and corresponding radiation in the outer divertor, effectively reducing the total and peak target heat fluxes by 20%–40%, compared to the case with divertor fueling. Meanwhile, the case with outer target fueling also achieves similar reductions by enhancing plasma-neutral interactions. These results suggest the possibility that the selection of the fueling location and throughput can be used as an actuator to control impurity divertor retention and divertor radiation asymmetry.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Operation of the H- Linac at FNAL

The Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) Linac has been in operation for 52 years. In approximately four years, it will be replaced by a new 800 MeV superconducting machine, the PIP-II SRF Linac. In the current configuration, the Linac delivers H- ions at 400 MeV and injects protons by charge exchange into the Booster synchrotron. Despite its age, the Linac is the most stable accelerator in the FNAL complex, reliably sending 22 mA in daily operations. We will discuss the status of the operation, beam studies, and plans.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Electron-Only Reconnection in Plasma Turbulence

Hybrid-Vlasov–Maxwell simulations of magnetized plasma turbulence including non-linear electron-inertia effects in a generalized Ohm's law are presented. When fluctuation energy is injected on scales sufficiently close to ion-kinetic scales, the ions efficiently become de-magnetized and electron-scale current sheets largely dominate the distribution of the emerging current structures, in contrast to the usual picture, where a full hierarchy of structure sizes is generally observed. These current sheets are shown to be the sites of electron-only reconnection (e-rec), in which the usual electron exhausts are unaccompanied by ion outflows and which are in qualitative agreement with those recently observed by MMS in the Earth's turbulent magnetosheath, downstream of the bow shock. Some features of the e-rec phenomenology are shown to be consistent with an electron magnetohydrodynamic description. Simulations suggest that this regime of collisionless reconnection may be found in turbulent systems where plasma processes, such as micro-instabilities and/or shocks, overpower the more customary turbulent cascade by directly injecting energy close to the ion-kinetic scales.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Response of thermal and fast-ion transport to beam ion population, rotation and T e / T i in the DIII-D steady state hybrid scenario

The thermal and fast-ion transport properties of DIII-D steady-state hybrid discharges with normalized beta β N ≳ 3 are studied at low injected torque and an increased electron to ion temperature ratio T e / T i . Linear stability analysis performed with the TGLF turbulent code indicates that a high-k mode is usually dominant at smaller radii, whereas a low-k mode is usually dominant at larger radii in these plasmas. A reduction in the net injected torque from 8.6 to 4.3 N-m leads to reduced E × B shear and hence, an enhanced turbulence that was observed on the Doppler backscattering diagnostic and was also computed with TGLF. As T e / T i in the core was increased from 0.57 to 0.66 by adding electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) to these plasmas, higher levels of transport are observed with increased high-k modes indicated by TGLF. The fast-ion transport level varied over an order of magnitude in these discharges depending on whether Alfvén eigenmodes, fishbones, or no instabilities were observed. Hybrid plasmas with fishbones have decreased fast-ion transport, compared to plasmas with Alfvén eigenmodes, since they are resonant with a smaller portion of phase space and their resonance is farther from the wall. This reduction in fast-ion transport with ECCD mitigates the increase in turbulent transport, resulting in higher performance than expected during strong electron heating. Similarly, the lowest fast-ion transport was observed in the low torque plasma, which also led to better than expected performance at this torque value. Finally, the thermal and fast-ion transport changes observed as the torque/rotation and T e / T i are varied indicate possible methods for transferring this scenario to a reactor.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2026

The Role of Magnetic Reconnection in Energizing Protons and Heavier Ions at the Heliospheric Current Sheet

During near-Sun crossings of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS), Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observed populations of high-energy protons and heavier ions, indicating possible energization by magnetic reconnection up to 10 s–100 s keV nucleon −1 . Here we study ion acceleration by magnetic reconnection at the HCS. To estimate ion energization, we solve the Parker transport equation coupled to a large-scale 2D MHD reconnection simulation. We find that multiple ion species develop power-law distributions with both spectral index and high-energy cutoff E max consistent with in situ data. By accounting for the injection physics determined by kinetic simulations, we confirm that the charge-to-mass ratio scales as E max ∝ (Q/M) α with α ∼ 0.8–1.1, approximately consistent with PSP measurements in the broader range α ∼ 0.6–1.7. In the limit where ions are injected at the same energy per nucleon, α can be as low as ∼0.3. These findings further support the role of magnetic reconnection in producing high-energy heavy ions at the HCS.

Murtas, Giulia [West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, W↗

DOE OSTI2026

Assessment of BPM options for the EIC Beam Accumulator Ring

The electron injection system for the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) at BNL is designed to provide a beam of polarized electrons, which is crucial for studying the structure of protons and atomic nuclei. The Beam Accumulator Ring (BAR) is a part of the injection chain between the 750 MeV linear accelerator and the Rapid Cycling Synchrotron (RCS), which accelerates the beam up to full energy (5–18 GeV). The functional role of the BAR is to accumulate the charge injected from the linear accelerator in order to achieve the high intensity of the polarized electron beam required by the specifications for injection into the RCS. This objective will be realized through the sequential injection of bunches with a charge of 1.1 nC at a repetition rate of 30 Hz. Once the charge of a single bunch reaches 28 nC, the beam will be extracted from the BAR and injected into the RCS. The beam instrumentation needs to provide reliable measurements with the required accuracy over the dynamic range from 0.1 nC (one tenth of a typical injected bunch charge) to 32 nC – the maximum expected accumulated current. There are 10 Beam Position Monitors (BPMs) in the ring, 1 extra button-electrode assembly for the RF system, and 8 BPMs in the beam transport lines. The BPM locations are shown in Fig. 1, marked by blue rectangles. The ring BPMs will be capable of both average orbit and turn-by-turn measurement modes. Accurate measurement of the beam position with a large horizontal offset requires polynomial correction of the BPM nonlinearity.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Manufacturing the Harmonic Kicker Cavity Prototype for the Electron-Ion Collider

High-bunch-frequency beam-separation schemes, such as the injection scheme proposed for the Rapid Cycling Synchrotron at the Electron-Ion Collider, demand rise and fall times an order of magnitude below what can realistically be accomplished with a stripline kicker. Nanosecond-time-scale kick waveforms can instead be obtained by Fourier synthesis in a harmonically resonant quarter-wave radio-frequency cavity which is optimized for high shunt impedance. Originally developed for the Jefferson Lab Electron-Ion Collider (JLEIC) Circulator Cooler Ring, a hypothetical 11-pass ring driven by an energy-recovery linac at Jefferson Lab, our high-power prototype of such a harmonic kicker cavity, which operates at five modes at the same time, will demonstrate the viability of this concept with a beam test at Jefferson Lab. As the geometry of the cavity, tight mechanical tolerances, and number of ports complicate the design and manufacturing process, special care must be given to the order of the manufacturing steps. We present our experiences with the manufacturability of the present design, lessons learned, and first RF test results from the prototype.

Overstreet, S. A.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Manufacturing the Harmonic Kicker Cavity Prototype for the Electron-Ion Collider

Overstreet, S. A.↗

DOE OSTI2020

Beam-ion Studies in NSTX and NSTX-U (Final Technical Report)

The confinement of high energy "fast ions" is crucial for the success of magnetic fusion as a practical energy source. The research performed by UC Irvine on NSTX and NSTX-U provided new information about this important topic in the configuration known as a "spherical tokamak." Injected neutral beams provided the fast ions (also known as "beam ions"). There were five overarching goals of the research. One objective was to measure the confinement of beam ions in order to ascertain if they were accomplishing their desired purpose of transferring their energy to the bulk plasma. A second goal was to better understand instabilities that are driven unstable by the fast ions. A related goal was to use the similarities and differences between NSTX and the DIII-D conventional tokamak to better understand the fast-ion driven instabilities. A fourth goal was to develop new instruments to measure fast ions and techniques that facilitate analysis of the data. The fifth objective was to measure and understand acceleration of beam ions by RF waves. Much was accomplished in all of these five areas. In the first, it was shown that the large magnetic moment of the beam ions did not harm confinement but instabilities known as the "sawtooth" and "long-lived mode" do. In the second area, much attention was devoted to the fast-ion instabilities known as "Alfvén eigenmodes." In particular, Alfvén eigenmode "avalanches" can cause ~ 30% of the fast ions to be lost in a single explosive burst. The comparative studies with DIII-D showed that an instability discovered on NSTX is also important in conventional tokamaks. In the fourth category, several instruments were developed, a number of effects that complicate interpretation of the data were understood, and progress toward a new method to infer the fast-ion distribution function from the data was made. In the fifth category, the measured profile of accelerated fast ions was initially much broader than theoretical predictions but subsequent improvements in the theoretical modeling achieved good agreement with the data.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Full-orbit simulations of fast-ion charge-exchange losses induced by neutral particles outside the plasma last closed flux surface

The interaction between neutrals outside tokamak plasmas and fast ions that are generated by neutral beam injection and pass outside the plasma is studied. It is shown that at beam energies (up to ~100~keV) fast-ion losses are significant, up to 20% in the studied case, because of charge exchange reactions between the neutrals and the fast ions. About half of the fast ions that neutralize outside the plasma get lost to the wall while the other half re-enter the plasma and ionize again, often on better confined orbits which is visible as an enhanced beam power deposition in the plasma core (rho ~< 0.7). As a result, the the plasma performance as measured from the beam-thermal neutrons is hardly changed despite the significant fast-ion losses toward the plasma edge.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Overview of H- radio frequency ion sources for particle accelerators

Particle accelerators are among the most important scientific tools of the modern era. Large accelerator complexes have supported scientific user facilities which have had an enormous societal impact spanning many decades and enabling the work of thousands of scientific users worldwide contributing to many Nobel prizes in physics, biology and chemistry [1]. Many of the large hadron facilities employ accelerator complexes which include cyclotrons, synchrotrons, storage rings, linear or tandem accelerators and deliver ion beams of very high-intensity and/or very high-energy to their user facilities. These accelerator complexes require the injection of high-intensity beams of ions which are produced within an ion source and formed within a plasma or by bombardment of a surface [2]. Increasingly, RF systems are being utilized, to generate these ion-rich plasmas due to their high reliability and minimal use of consumable components. This report will first discuss the basic mechanisms of ion formation and plasma generation as well as some specifics of RF/microwave generators, matching circuits and plasma coupling structures typically employed. A detailed discussion will then be given of the RF-driven negative ion source systems employed by US Spallation Neutron Source as well as those used in similar facilities located around the globe. REFERENCES [1]Vladimir Shiltsev, “Particle beams behind physics discoveries”, Physics Today 73, Issue 4, 32 (2020) [2]Robert Welton et al, “Negative hydrogen ion sources for particle accelerators: Sustainability issues and recent improvements in long-term operations”, Journal of Physics Conf Series, 2244 012045

Welton, Robert F.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Design of the EIC hadron storage ring stripline injection kicker with a novel impedance tuning capability

The Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), to be built at Brookhaven National Laboratory, will be a high luminosity (~10 34 cm –2 s –1 ) nuclear science facility. To facilitate EIC experiments, the existing yellow ring of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) will be reconfigured to serve as the Hadron Storage Ring (HSR). Designing a stripline injection kicker for the HSR beams, with high magnetic rigidity (~ 82 Tm), poses some technical challenges due to the required large pulsed voltage with long flattop duration, very fast rise time, expected shorter bunch spacing, and potential heating due to higher peak current. In addition, minimizing impedance mismatch in the transition region between the feedthrough and the stripline electrode is challenging. This paper focuses on the mechanical design and optimization of the HSR injection kicker, highlighting a novel impedance tuning capability achieved through an innovative kicker aperture adjustment mechanism. We comprehensively cover the design, including impedance optimization (both beam coupling and characteristic), beam-induced heating, and thermal analysis, and investigation of the maximum electric field due to high voltage signal excitation to ensure safe and reliable operation.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2020

A state of the art Lambertson septum magnet of the RHIC beam injection system

The beam injection system of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) is the last section of the beam transfer line which transports the beam from the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) to RHIC and comes under the acronym AtR (AGS to RHIC). The Lambertson septum magnet is one of the magnetic elements of the RHIC injection system. This paper presents results from the 2D and 3D electromagnetic design of the RHIC Lambertson septum magnet which has unique design features to minimize the magnetic field at the circulated beam region including the fringe field regions at the entrance and exit of the magnet.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Stripping Foils at the RHIC Injectors: A History

Stripping foils are used throughout Collider-Accelerator Department to strip ions of unwanted electrons. This is done in stages throughout the complex to optimize the transmission of particles. For polarized protons, they are injected into the AGS Booster as H-, and then stripped to H+. For ions from the tandem source, there are two stripping foils: one at the center and the other at the end of the tandem. The tandem foils will not be covered in this document. For ions out of the EBIS source, there is no use of stripping foils upstream of injection into the Booster. All ions that are not fully stripped in Booster are stripped further in the Booster to AGS (BTA) transfer line stripping foil assembly. Finally, any ions that are not fully stripped in the AGS are either stripped in the AGS to RHIC transfer line stripping foil, or as they are being dumped in the AGS by the plunging stripping foil (PSF) dependent on the particles intensity and charge. The BTA foil is the workhorse of the complex, having to provide the desired charge state of ions as light as O, and as heavy as Uranium. Optimizing the stripping efficiency to the desired charge state, while minimizing the energy lost and emittance growth from transiting the foil, requires careful consideration of the foil materials and thicknesses. This paper serves an overview of stripping foils at C-AD, with a review of foils from the construction of the AGS Booster to now.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗