Engineering topics

Nagashima, Y

Publications and source records attributed to Nagashima, Y.

6 records

DOE OSTI2011

Plasma Current Start-up Experiment using Waves in the Lower Hybrid Frequency Range in TST-2

Noninductive plasma current (I{sub p}) start-up experiments using RF power in the lower hybrid frequency range are being conducted on the TST-2 spherical tokamak. The lower hybrid wave (LHW) has demonstrated efficient current drive in conventional tokamaks. However, in spherical tokamak (ST) plasmas with very high dielectric constants (;{epsilon}{approx}{omega}{sub pe}{sup 2}/{Omega}{sub e}{sup 2}>>1), accessibility of the LHW to the plasma core is severely limited. Our approach is to keep the plasma density low (such that {epsilon}{approx}1) during I{sub p} ramp-up. Once I{sub p} reaches a level sufficiently high for neutral beam current drive, plasma can be densified and transformed into an advanced tokamak plasma dominated by the self-driven bootstrap current. Initial plasma start-up experiments were performed on TST-2 using a combline antenna which excites a traveling fast wave. After formation of toroidal flux surfaces, RF power and vertical field were ramped up to increase I{sub p}. Up to 12 kA of Ip has been obtained by this method. Soft X-ray measurements indicate that the electron temperature increases as I{sub p} increases, and hard X-ray spectroscopy indicates that energetic electrons build up as I{sub p} is ramped up.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2011

Electron Cyclotron / Bernstein Wave Heating and Current Drive Experiments using Phased-array Antenna in QUEST

The phased-array antenna system for Electron Cyclotron/Bernstein Wave Heating and Current Drive experiments has been developed in the QUEST. The antenna was designed to excite a pure O-mode wave in the oblique injection for the O-X-B mode conversion experiments, and its good performances were confirmed at a low power level. The plasma current (<{approx}15 kA) with an aspect ratio of 1.5 was started up and sustained by only RF injection in the low-density operations. The long pulse discharge of 10 kA was also attained for 37 s. The new density window to sustain the plasma current was observed in the high-density plasmas. The single-null divertor configuration with the high plasma current (<{approx}25 kA) was attained in the 17 s plasma sustainment.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2011

Photodetachment of Positronium Negative Ions

Photodetachment of the positronium negative ion, a bound state of one positron and two electrons, has been observed. Development of a method to produce the ions efficiently using a Na coated tungsten surface has enabled the first observation of the photodetachment. The obtained lower limit of the photodetachment cross section for the wavelength of 1064 nm is consistent with the theoretical calculations reported so far. The experimental field developed in the present work gives new opportunities to explore the quantum mechanical three-body problem and to develop energy-tunable positronium beams.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2010

Synthesis of Cold Antihydrogen in a Cusp Trap

We report here the first successful synthesis of cold antihydrogen atoms employing a cusp trap, which consists of a superconducting anti-Helmholtz coil and a stack of multiple ring electrodes. This success opens a new path to make a stringent test of the CPT symmetry via high precision microwave spectroscopy of ground-state hyperfine transitions of antihydrogen atoms.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2010

Observation of Quasi-Two-Dimensional Nonlinear Interactions in a Drift-Wave Streamer

A streamer, which is a bunching of drift-wave fluctuations, and its mediator, which generates the streamer by coupling with other fluctuations, have been observed in a cylindrical magnetized plasma. Their radial structures were investigated in detail by using the biphase analysis. Their quasi-two-dimensional structures were revealed to be equivalent with a pair of fast and slow modes predicted by a nonlinear Schroedinger equation based on the Hasegawa-Mima model.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2010

Wavelet analyses using parallel computing for plasma turbulence studies

The wavelet analyses have been carried out, using a cluster of personal computer, on the signal of electric field fluctuations measured with heavy ion beam probes in the compact helical system stellarator. The results have revealed the intermittent characteristics of turbulence and of the nonlinear couplings between elemental waves of turbulence. The usage of parallel computing is found to successfully reduce the calculation time as inversely proportional to the CPU number used the cluster, which shows the nature of 'embarrassingly parallel computation'. The present example of the wavelet analyses clearly demonstrates the importance of the advanced analyzing methods and the parallel computation for the modern studies of plasma turbulence.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗