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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

High quality factor non-uniform metasurfaces

High quality factor electromagnetic metasurfaces are provided. The metasurface is configured to have in plane guided-mode resonances (e.g., corresponding to waveguide modes or the like). Coupling features are included in the metasurface that are configured to couple free-space radiation to the guided mode resonances. The resulting structures have a high-Q response to free-space radiation and can be used for various applications, such as beam splitting, beam steering, and beam focusing or defocusing.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Coherent emission from surface Josephson plasmons in striped cuprates

The interplay between charge order and superconductivity remains one of the central themes of research in quantum materials. In the case of cuprates, the coupling between striped charge fluctuations and local electromagnetic fields is especially important, as it affects transport properties, coherence, and dimensionality of superconducting correlations. Here, we study the emission of coherent terahertz radiation in single-layer cuprates of the La 2-x Ba x CuO 4 family, for which this effect is expected to be forbidden by symmetry. We find that emission vanishes for compounds in which the stripes are quasi-static but is activated when c-axis inversion symmetry is broken by incommensurate or fluctuating charge stripes, such as in La 1.905 Ba 0.095 CuO 4 and in La 1.845 Ba 0.155 CuO 4 . In this case, terahertz radiation is emitted by surface Josephson plasmons, which are generally dark modes, but couple to free space electromagnetic radiation because of the stripe modulation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Twisted moiré photonic crystal enabled optical vortex generation through bound states in the continuum

The twisted stacking of two layered crystals has led to the emerging moiré physics as well as intriguing chiral phenomena such as chiral phonon and photon generation. In this work, we identified and theoretically formulated a non-trivial twist-enabled coupling mechanism in twisted bilayer photonic crystal (TBPC), which connects the bound state in the continuum (BIC) mode to the free space through the twist-enabled channel. Moreover, the radiation from TBPC hosts an optical vortex in the far field with both odd and even topological orders. We quantitatively analyzed the twist-enabled coupling between the BIC mode and other non-local modes in the photonic crystals, giving rise to radiation carrying orbital angular momentum. The optical vortex generation is robust against geometric disturbance, making TBPC a promising platform for well-defined vortex generation. As a result, TBPCs not only provide a new approach to manipulating the angular momentum of photons, but may also enable novel applications in integrated optical information processing and optical tweezers. Our work broadens the field of moiré photonics and paves the way toward the novel application of moiré physics.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

A New Plasma Radar Concept for Simultaneous Magnetic and Density Measurements

An innovative, compact 288GHz interferometer has been fabricated, tested, installed and successfully demonstrated on the LAPD-U magnetized plasma at UCLA. The system takes advantage of frequency modulated (FM) radar techniques to deliver a compact heterodyne system. In addition, the reflected power from the source is taken advantage of to eliminate the need for additional quasi-optical components. Electron density in LAPD-U plasma has recently been increased substantially thereby requiring a higher frequency/shorter wavelength interferometer to avoid deleterious refractive effects. This system satisfies those needs. The system uses a 96GHz varactor tuned Gunn oscillator which passes to a passive tripler. This tripler has ~3% conversion efficiency. The 288GHz radiation is then coupled to free space using a so-called dual-mode or Pickett horn. The output 288GHz beam is then coupled to an aspheric lens manufactured from low-loss, high-density polyethylene. This lens is employed to collimate the emerging beam. Small axial adjustment of the lens position can also be used to create a slowly focusing beam so as to optimize the measured signal. In addition, up-down or side-to-side adjustment of the lens can be utilized to steer the beam vertically or horizontally – again to optimize alignment. The propagating beam passes through a beam splitter and then through a water-free, bubble-free fused quartz window into the LAPD-U vacuum vessel. The beam-splitter is a thin sheet of G10 which reflects a small fraction of the incident power (~5 %) towards a zero-bias detector optimized for the frequency range from 220 to 300GHz. Note that waveguides at this frequency have dimensions of ~0.9mm x 0.45mm and so have very large conductive losses. This drives the use of quasi-optical propagation. The detector requires no DC bias and is very responsive (> 1V/mW into 1MΩ). Radiation is coupled to the detector via a similar lens-horn arrangement used for the launch. This reflected beam acts as the local oscillator or reference millimeter-wave beam for the detector. The remainder of the launched source beam then enters the LAPD-U vacuum vessel and passes through the plasma at the mid-plane until reaching the opposing port which is closed off with an aluminum flange. This flange is used as a mirror to retroreflect the incident 288GHz beam back along its path. The retroreflected beam exits the input port but does NOT couple directly into the zero-bias detector. Instead, the majority of the return power continues towards the 288GHz source. As mentioned above the transmitted beam enters the source a second time. This would appear undesirable. However, at these frequencies multipliers are highly non-linear elements which results in a significant portion of the return beam (~20%) re-emerging from the multiplier and horn and then coupling via the G10 beam-splitter to the zero-bias detector. This approach eliminated the need for a second quasi-optical beam-splitter. The system is extremely compact measuring approximately 28 inches x 20 inches. The above did not explain how heterodyne operation was achieved. As mentioned above the Gunn oscillator is able to be varactor tuned. This allows a low voltage to be applied to control the operating frequency of the Gunn oscillator. During heterodyne operation a sawtooth shaped voltage is applied to the varactor at 750kHz using an 80MHz Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG). This voltage changes the Gunn frequency linearly during the up-sweep which is then reset abruptly at the sawtooth crash to be immediately followed by another linear sweep. Passage through the 288GHz multiplier triples the frequency change experienced by the electromagnetic wave. These frequency changes are small – tens of megahertz. This FM radar approach results in the launched electromagnetic wave frequencies at the detector for the reference and plasma wave to be different. The approximately 10 ns delay propagation delay for the plasma beam results in the local oscillator and plasma beams NOT having an identical frequency – there is in fact a fixed difference frequency. The frequency tuning level of the Gunn oscillator is then adjusted so that there is ONE cycle of this difference frequency during each linear ramp. During the sawtooth crash or downward re-sweep this one cycle replays in reverse but on a very fast timescale. The process then repeats. Low-pass filtering eliminates the fast re-sweep to leave a pure sine wave heterodyne signal. When the plasma is present it introduces a phase delay in the sine wave (caused by the extremely small Doppler shift resulting from the optical path length change). Of course, to measure this phase change we need a reference. This is simply obtained from an arbitrary waveform generator which provides a synchronized output pulse train which again is low pass filtered to obtain a 750kHz sinusoidal voltage reference for the interferometer. The interferometer was installed on LAPD-U where it has worked reliably and has established that electron densities exceeding 1x10 13 cm -3 are routinely achieved. In addition, the system sensitivity was able to easily observe density fluctuation at frequencies up to 50kHz. FM Radar techniques have enabled a full demonstration of a compact, sensitive, high frequency (288GHz/1mm) heterodyne interferometer.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Directive giant upconversion by supercritical bound states in the continuum

Photonic bound states in the continuum (BICs), embedded in the spectrum of free-space waves with diverging radiative quality factor, are topologically non-trivial dark modes in open-cavity resonators that have enabled important advances in photonics. However, it is particularly challenging to achieve maximum near-field enhancement, as this requires matching radiative and non-radiative losses. Here we propose the concept of supercritical coupling, drawing inspiration from electromagnetically induced transparency in near-field coupled resonances close to the Friedrich–Wintgen condition. Supercritical coupling occurs when the near-field coupling between dark and bright modes compensates for the negligible direct far-field coupling with the dark mode. This enables a quasi-BIC field to reach maximum enhancement imposed by non-radiative loss, even when the radiative quality factor is divergent. Our experimental design consists of a photonic-crystal nanoslab covered with upconversion nanoparticles. Near-field coupling is finely tuned at the nanostructure edge, in which a coherent upconversion luminescence enhanced by eight orders of magnitude is observed. The emission shows negligible divergence, narrow width at the microscale and controllable directivity through input focusing and polarization. This approach is relevant to various physical processes, with potential applications for light-source development, energy harvesting and photochemical catalysis.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Chiral Topological Surface States on a Finite Square Photonic Crystal Bounded by Air

Chiral, topologically protected, photonic surface states can be found at the boundary between gyrotropic photonic crystals where a changing magnetic field induces different topology across the interface. Typically, photonic crystals with either a suitable band structure on both sides of the interface to provide a band gap and evanescent decay of the surface states away from the interface, or an outer layer with engineered material properties is required. In this paper, we show the emergence of topological, unidirectional surface states at the termination of finite gyrotropic photonic crystals with a simple square lattice and C 4 rotational symmetry bounded by a vacuum, eliminating the need for an outside layer to enable chiral surface modes. Here, we start from an infinite, time-reversal-symmetry-breaking photonic crystal with a band gap associated with bands with nonzero Chern numbers, different from all-zero Chern numbers in air. We then modify the photonic crystal to move this band gap below the light line, while maintaining the Chern-number discontinuities. Band-structure calculations for a supercell approximating a photonic crystal finite in the direction normal to the surface demonstrate the existence, dispersion, and chirality of the surface mode. Extensive direct scattering calculations for a point source and spatial Fourier analysis further reveal a unidirectional free-space topological surface state, which propagates counterclockwise around the surface of a finite photonic crystal, providing a nearly foolproof way to cross-check the surface-mode band structure unaffected by backscattering from local defects. Additionally, scattering simulations allow an independent characterization of the state dispersion and unveil the robustness of the topological plasmonic mode propagation around the 90° bends of the structure, being due to only radiation leakage. In contrast to buried topological surface states, the observed surface modes at the photonic crystal–air interface have the advantage of being accessible to the outside world, allowing one to take advantage of the defect-tolerant backscattering-free surface modes to engineer emission from photonic crystal surfaces into arbitrary free-space beam shapes and directions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Flat nonlinear optics with intersubband polaritonic metasurfaces

Nonlinear intersubband polaritonic metasurfaces produce some of the strongest second- and third-order nonlinear optical responses reported for condensed matter systems at infrared frequencies. These metasurfaces are fabricated as two-dimensional arrays of nanoresonators from multi-quantum-well semiconductor heterostructures, designed to produce strong nonlinear responses associated with intersubband transitions. By optimally coupling the optical modes of the nanoresonators to vertically polarized intersubband transitions in semiconductor heterostructures, one can boost the nonlinear response associated with intersubband transitions, make intersubband transitions interact with free-space radiation at normal incidence, and hence produce optically thin flat nonlinear optical elements compatible with free-space optical setups. As a result of the strong nonlinear response in these systems, significant nonlinear conversion efficiencies (>0.1 %) can be attained in deeply subwavelength optical films using modest pumping intensities of only 10–100 kW/cm 2 . Subwavelength metasurface thickness relaxes phase-matching constraints limiting the operation of bulk nonlinear crystals. Furthermore, the amplitude and phase of the nonlinear optical response in intersubband polaritonic metasurfaces can be tailored for a specific pump wavelength and a nonlinear process of interest through the co-optimization of quantum engineering of electron states in semiconductor heterostructures and photonic engineering of the metasurface nanoresonators design. Additionally, an applied voltage can dynamically control the amplitude and phase of the nonlinear optical response at a nanoresonator level. Here, we review the current state of the art in this rapidly expanding field, focusing on nonlinear processes supporting second-harmonic generation, saturable absorption, and optical power limiting.

flat optics↗
DOE OSTI2021

Label-free DNA biosensing by topological light confinement

Large-area and transparent all-dielectric metasurfaces sustaining photonic bound states in the continuum (BICs) provide a set of fundamental advantages for ultrasensitive biosensing. BICs bridge the gap of large effective mode volume with large experimental quality factor. Relying on the transduction mechanism of reactive sensing principle, herein, we first numerically study the potential of subwavelength confinement driven by topological decoupling from free space radiation for BIC-based biosensing. Then, we experimentally combine this capability with minimal and low-cost optical setup, applying the devised quasi-BIC resonator for PNA/DNA selective biosensing with real-time monitoring of the binding event. A sensitivity of 20 molecules per micron squared is achieved, i.e. ≃0.01 pg. Further enhancement can easily be envisaged, pointing out the possibility of single-molecule regime. This work aims at a precise and ultrasensitive approach for developing low-cost point-of-care tools suitable for routine disease prescreening analyses in laboratory, also adaptable to industrial production control.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Whistler Chorus Amplification in the Magnetosphere: The Nonlinear Free‐Electron Laser Model and the Ginzburg‐Landau Equation

We present a novel nonlinear model for whistler-mode chorus amplification based on the free-electron laser (FEL) mechanism. First, we derive the nonlinear collective variable equations for the whistler-electron interaction. Consistent with in situ satellite observations, these equations predict that a small seed wave can undergo exponential growth, reaching a peak of a few hundred picoteslas after a few milliseconds, followed by millisecond timescale amplitude modulations. Next, we show that when one accounts for multiple wave frequencies and wave spatial variations, the amplitude and phase of the whistler wave can be described by the Ginzburg-Landau equation (GLE), providing a framework for the investigation of solitary wave behavior of chorus modes. These findings enhance our understanding of wave-particle interactions and space weather in the Van Allen radiation belts, deepen the connection between whistler-electron dynamics and FELs, and reveal a novel connection between whistler-mode chorus and the GLE.

Ginsburg-Landau equation↗
DOE OSTI2021

Identification of Brillouin Zones by In-Plane Lasing from Light-Cone Surface Lattice Resonances

Periodic optical structures can control the flow of light, which has facilitated applications in optical fibers, laser cavities, and biochemical sensors. The first Brillouin zone (BZ) in reciprocal space can describe all the electromagnetic fields localized inside a photonic lattice. However, photonic lattices also exhibit radiative losses from light scattering, but the radiated fields are not captured by the first BZ. In a two-dimensional lattice, the in-plane wavevectors of photonic modes are limited by the so-called light cone, which depicts free-photon dispersion relations in the surrounding medium. Here we show that projection of the light cone on extended BZs provides a geometric method to observe radiated electromagnetic fields of photonic lattice modes. We developed a coupled dipole radiation theory to reveal how lattice geometry and dipole orientation affect the angular distributions of the radiated fields. Using dye molecules as local dipole emitters to excite and probe the optical modes, we experimentally identified high-order BZ edges through directional, in-plane lasing emission.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Ultrafast quantum photonics enabled by coupling plasmonic nanocavities to strongly radiative antennas

Quantum emitters coupled to plasmonic nanostructures can act as exceptionally bright sources of single photons, operating at room temperature. Plasmonic mode volumes supported by these nanostructures can be several orders of magnitude smaller than the cubic wavelength, which leads to dramatically enhanced light–matter interactions and drastically increased photon production rates. However, when increasing the light localization further, these deeply subwavelength modes may in turn hinder the fast outcoupling of photons into free space. Plasmonic hybrid nanostructures combining a highly confined cavity mode and a larger antenna mode circumvent this issue. We establish the fundamental limits for quantum emission enhancement in such systems and find that the best performance is achieved when the cavity and antenna modes differ significantly in size. We experimentally support this idea by photomodifying a nanopatch antenna deterministically assembled around a nanodiamond known to contain a single nitrogen–vacancy (NV) center. As a result, the cavity mode shrinks, further shortening the NV fluorescence lifetime and increasing the single-photon brightness. Our analytical and numerical simulation results provide intuitive insight into the operation of these emitter–cavity–antenna systems and show that this approach could lead to single-photon sources with emission rates up to hundreds of THz and efficiencies close to unity.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Steerable terahertz beams using surface waves on an active metasurface

The development of dynamic components for controlling wave fronts in the sub-terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum has emerged as a frontier research topic for many applications in sensing and communications. One approach which has attracted much attention involves the use of active metasurfaces, tiled arrays of sub-wavelength elements with properties that can be reconfigured via external actuation. In nearly all cases, these metasurfaces are employed as either transmissive or reflective elements, taking advantage of their strong and tunable interaction with free-space electromagnetic waves. These interactions can be significantly enhanced through the use of surface waves propagating parallel to the metasurface array, although very few studies have exploited this option. Here, we integrate a metasurface into the interior of a parallel-plate waveguide in a configuration explicitly designed to exploit this surface-wave geometry. We show that varying the electrical properties of the active metasurface changes the wave vector of the guided mode, and thereby alters the emission angle of radiation out-coupled through a leaky-wave slot aperture. These results, which are consistent with numerical simulations, represent a new approach to broadband beam steering suitable for the sub-terahertz spectral range.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Single-particle dynamics of microbunching

The mechanism of steady-state microbunching (SSMB) has been proposed [D. F. Ratner and A. W. Chao, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 154801 (2010)] to generate high-power coherent radiation at a high repetition rate or in continuous-wave mode using electron storage rings. In this paper, the related single-particle dynamics are theoretically and numerically studied, and important results are presented. The investigated effects are longitudinal quantum radiation excitation, nonlinear momentum compaction, and linear and nonlinear coupling of the transverse and longitudinal motion. Although this analysis is oriented toward SSMB, some of the analyzed effects are also crucial in cases such as coherent harmonic generation, bunch slicing, bunch compression, free-electron laser beam transport lines, and quasi-isochronous rings, which involve precise longitudinal phase-space manipulations.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Ka-band linearizer for the Ultra-Compact X-ray free-electron laser at UCLA

There is a strong demand for accelerating structures able to achieve higher gradients and more compact dimensions for the next generation of linear accelerators for research, industrial and medical applications. Notably innovative technologies will permit compact and affordable advanced accelerators as the linear collider and X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) with accelerating gradients over twice the value achieved with current technologies. In particular XFELs are able to produce coherent X-ray pulses with peak brightness 10 orders of magnitude greater than preceding approaches, which has revolutionized numerous research fields through imaging of the nanoscopic world at the time and length scale of atom-based systems, that is of femtosecond and Angstrom. There is a strong interest for combining these two fields, to form a proper tool with the goal of producing a very compact XFEL in order to investigate multi-disciplinary topics in chemistry, biology, materials science, medicine and physics. In the framework of the Ultra-Compact XFEL project under study at the University of California, Los Angeles, a high gradient radio-frequency accelerating structure for the longitudinal phase-space linearization with an integrated voltage of at least 15 MV working on 6th harmonic of the main Linac frequency is required. We here present the electromagnetic design of a cryogenic normal-conducting 8 cm long Ka-band standing-wave linearizer working on π mode with a target accelerating gradient beyond 100 MV/m. The studies have been performed analytically and numerically to investigate the beam dynamics and electromagnetic issues.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2026

Edge fluctuation measurements in EDA H-mode and QCE plasmas in ASDEX Upgrade using the correlation electron cyclotron emission diagnostic

The requirement of a plasma solution without large edge-localized modes (ELMs) for future fusion devices motivates the study of plasmas without Type I ELMs. The enhanced D–α (EDA) and quasi-continuous exhaust (QCE) scenarios are two such Type I ELM free plasmas, but their underlying physics principles are not fully understood. A database of EDA and QCE plasmas from ASDEX Upgrade was compiled and analyzed using the correlation electron cyclotron emission diagnostic in order to study differences between properties of the quasi-coherent mode (QCM) between these two regimes. Investigations into measured spectral properties of the QCM, radiated temperature fluctuations δT rad /T rad , and radial correlation lengths L c showed no differences between the two regimes. Spectral properties using the cross-power spectral density, G xy were similar between regimes, with the values measured to be a central frequency, $f$ $QCM$ ≈ 20 - 50 kHz; spectral width, Δ $f$ ≈ 5 - 40 kHz; δT rad /T rad ≈ 4-6%; and L c ≈ 1-2 cm. Investigations into a quantity representing the relative bandwidth Δ$f$/$f$ $QCM$ revealed differences between EDA and QCE plasmas when plotted radially, suggesting some type of interaction between the QCM in QCE plasmas with the surrounding broadband turbulence that is not present in EDA phases. Additionally, investigations into various drive terms for hypothesized instability drivers for the QCM are performed showing no difference in the parameter spaces of collisionality and the ion temperature, electron temperature, or electron pressure scale lengths between each regime indicating that there is no observable difference between the drive behind the QCM in each regime.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Achievement of highly radiating plasma in negative triangularity and effect of reactor-relevant seeded impurities on confinement and transport

The first achievement of highly radiating plasmas in negative triangularity (NT) is shown with an operational space featuring high core radiation at high Greenwald fraction obtained with the injection of reactor-relevant seeded gases. These NT shape diverted discharges reach high values of normalized plasma pressure ( β N > 2) at high radiation fraction with no edge localized modes (ELMs) and a simultaneous reduction of the divertor heat flux. Here, we demonstrate that as long as the impurity level in the core is kept low to avoid excessive fuel dilution and impurity accumulation, integration of NT configuration with high radiation fraction not only is achievable but it can lead to confinement improvement with stabilization effects originating from collisionality, E × B shear and profiles changes due to impurity radiation cooling. The underlying physics mechanism is robust and reproducible and holds for a variety of impurity species. The absence of the requirement to stay in H-mode translates in a higher core radiation fraction potentially allowed in NT shape effectively mitigating the power exhaust issue. The results presented here demonstrate a path to high performance, ELM free and highly radiative regime with reactor-relevant seeding gases making this regime a potential new scenario for reactor design.

confinement improvement↗
DOE OSTI2024

Overview of ASDEX upgrade results in view of ITER and DEMO

Experiments on ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) in 2021 and 2022 have addressed a number of critical issues for ITER and EU DEMO. A major objective of the AUG programme is to shed light on the underlying physics of confinement, stability, and plasma exhaust in order to allow reliable extrapolation of results obtained on present day machines to these reactor-grade devices. Concerning pedestal physics, the mitigation of edge localised modes (ELMs) using resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) was found to be consistent with a reduction of the linear peeling-ballooning stability threshold due to the helical deformation of the plasma. Conversely, ELM suppression by RMPs is ascribed to an increased pedestal transport that keeps the plasma away from this boundary. Candidates for this increased transport are locally enhanced turbulence and a locked magnetic island in the pedestal. The enhanced D-alpha (EDA) and quasi-continuous exhaust (QCE) regimes have been established as promising ELM-free scenarios. Here, the pressure gradient at the foot of the H-mode pedestal is reduced by a quasi-coherent mode, consistent with violation of the high-n ballooning mode stability limit there. This is suggestive that the EDA and QCE regimes have a common underlying physics origin. In the area of transport physics, full radius models for both L- and H-modes have been developed. These models predict energy confinement in AUG better than the commonly used global scaling laws, representing a large step towards the goal of predictive capability. A new momentum transport analysis framework has been developed that provides access to the intrinsic torque in the plasma core. In the field of exhaust, the X-Point Radiator (XPR), a cold and dense plasma region on closed flux surfaces close to the X-point, was described by an analytical model that provides an understanding of its formation as well as its stability, i.e., the conditions under which it transitions into a deleterious MARFE with the potential to result in a disruptive termination. With the XPR close to the divertor target, a new detached divertor concept, the compact radiative divertor, was developed. Here, the exhaust power is radiated before reaching the target, allowing close proximity of the X-point to the target. No limitations by the shallow field line angle due to the large flux expansion were observed, and sufficient compression of neutral density was demonstrated. With respect to the pumping of non-recycling impurities, the divertor enrichment was found to mainly depend on the ionisation energy of the impurity under consideration. In the area of MHD physics, analysis of the hot plasma core motion in sawtooth crashes showed good agreement with nonlinear 2-fluid simulations. This indicates that the fast reconnection observed in these events is adequately described including the pressure gradient and the electron inertia in the parallel Ohm’s law. Concerning disruption physics, a shattered pellet injection system was installed in collaboration with the ITER International Organisation. Thanks to the ability to vary the shard size distribution independently of the injection velocity, as well as its impurity admixture, it was possible to tailor the current quench rate, which is an important requirement for future large devices such as ITER. Progress was also made modelling the force reduction of VDEs induced by massive gas injection on AUG. The H-mode density limit was characterised in terms of safe operational space with a newly developed active feedback control method that allowed the stability boundary to be probed several times within a single discharge without inducing a disruptive termination. Regarding integrated operation scenarios, the role of density peaking in the confinement of the ITER baseline scenario (high plasma current) was clarified. The usual energy confinement scaling ITER98(p,y) does not capture this effect, but the more recent H20 scaling does, highlighting again the importance of developing adequate physics based models. Advanced tokamak scenarios, aiming at large non-inductive current fraction due to non-standard profiles of the safety factor in combination with high normalised plasma pressure were studied with a focus on their access conditions. A method to guide the approach of the targeted safety factor profiles was developed, and the conditions for achieving good confinement were clarified. Based on this, two types of advanced scenarios (‘hybrid’ and ‘elevated’

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Validation of Thermal Scattering Laws for Light Water at Elevated Temperatures with Diffusion Experiments

Light water is the most important neutron moderator in many reactor applications. Thermal neutron scattering kernels for H bound in H 2 O are represented by ENDF-format thermal scattering laws (TSLs) evaluated at discrete temperatures T . Nuclear data evaluations are conventionally validated utilizing a combination of critical benchmarks and experimental cross section data. Existing public critical benchmarks may be inadequate for testing water TSLs over the full range of T of interest in reactor applications, and experimental thermal scattering cross section data for water is sparse at elevated T . In this work, MC21 is used to simulate the decay of the equilibrium thermal neutron flux in light-water spheres of several radii. The fundamental-mode time eigenvalue $\mathcal{a}$ is calculated at 22 °C and 227 °C (at saturation pressure) for each sphere using three different H-H 2 O TSLs. Fitting $\mathcal{a}$ to a polynomial function of geometric buckling allows calculation of the thermal neutron diffusion length L . Extrapolation lengths are treated as a function of the transport mean free path and geometry. Experimental L data from 25 publications at 49 temperatures (from 10 °C to 295 °C), computed by several different time-dependent and space-dependent decay methods, is used to develop an empirical fit of L vs. T . The MC21-calculated L for the TSLs tested are within ±1% of the predicted values at 22 °C and 227 °C. This validation approach, which may be repeated at arbitrary T , constitutes an integral benchmark specific to and characterizing the detailed physics of the thermal scattering kernel applied.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗