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DOE OSTI2023

Analysing the effects of heating and gas puffing in Proto-MPEX helicon and auxiliary heated plasmas

The Material Plasma Exposure Experiment (MPEX) is being constructed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to investigate critical fusion reactor issues, such as plasma–material interactions (PMIs) under reactor-relevant conditions and time scales. The linear device Proto-MPEX was used as a test bed to address anticipated research and development issues associated with heating scenarios and establish the physics basis for MPEX. The SOLPS-ITER code suite has been applied to understand plasma and neutral transport in Proto-MPEX and to increase confidence in predictive simulations for MPEX. Coupling between COMSOL and SOLPS is performed to implement a 2D electron heating profile of the helicon source. The simulations show reasonable agreement with the experimental data for plasma with helicon and auxiliary electron cyclotron heating (ECH). Both Bohm and constant diffusion (D$_\perp$: 0.5 m 2 s –1 and $\chi_\perp$: 1 m 2 s –1 ) simulations show similar levels of agreement with respect to the sparse experimental data available, assuming a few per cent impurity concentration. ECH significantly increases the target electron temperature, however, the target electron density is reduced compared to helicon-only heated plasmas due to an increase in flow velocity and radial losses. The simulations show that further increasing the ECH power results in an increase in the target electron density due to increased recycling flux and ionization. The results indicate that ECH significantly enhances the target heat flux, with ECH power of 50 kW increasing the target heat flux from 0.4 to 17 MW m –2 . It is found that a small amount of gas puffing (GP) near the target plate can further increase the target heat fluxes at the higher ECH power cases, but the target heat flux is reduced at higher GP conditions due to a significant reduction in electron temperature via radiation. ECH and GP scenarios can generate a higher target flux, facilitating improved PMI studies with more reactor-relevant plasma conditions.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Modeling magnetic confinement of laser-generated plasma in cylindrical geometry leading to disk-shaped structures

Radiation-magnetohydrodynamic simulations were able to reproduce features of the plasma structures observed in recent experiments1, where a laser was used to ablate plasma in a 3 MG magnetic field. The laser ablates the plasma, and localized structures are formed due to the inhibition of heat flow by the magnetic field. The large magnetic pressures cause the plasma to pinch. In an azimuthal fi eld, a disc-shaped plasma is generated. According to simulations, the disc has electron densities that are underdense to the laser, ranging from 10 18 to 10 19 cm -3 , and electron temperatures in the 300 to 1000 eV range during its evolution, similar to experimental data.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Continuous-wave planar laser induced fluorescence with a fast camera

We present planar, laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) measurements of the velocity-resolved distribution function of ions in a plasma using a modulated, narrow linewidth, continuous-wave laser. Plasma emission is acquired with a high frame rate camera, and the laser light is spread into a thin sheet so that an entire plane of the plasma is imaged at each interrogation wavelength. Fourier analysis is conducted on each pixel of the images to separate the modulated fluorescent emission from the background light. Argon ion temperatures and bulk flow maps are reported in a helicon plasma source, and standard single-point LIF measurements provide validation of the PLIF measurement.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2022

Birefringence tomography for axion cloud

An axion cloud surrounding a supermassive black hole can be naturally produced through the superradiance process. Its existence can be examined by the axion induced birefringence effect. It predicts an oscillation of the electric vector position angle of linearly polarized radiations. Stringent constraints of the existence of the axion in a particular mass window has been obtained based on the recent Event Horizon Telescope measurement on M87$^\star$. The future Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations will be able to measure the vicinity of many supermassive black holes, thus it opens the possibility to search for the existence of axions in a wide mass regime. In this paper, we study how different black hole properties and accretion flows influence the signatures of the axion induced birefringence. We include the impacts of black hole inclination angles, spins, magnetic fields, plasma velocity distributions, the thickness of the accretion flows. We pay special attention to characterize the washout effects induced by the finite thickness of the accretion flows and the lensed photons. Finally, based on this study, we give prospects on how to optimize the axion search using future VLBI observations, such as the next-generation Event Horizon Telescope, to further increase the sensitivity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Magnetized, radiofrequency-driven hollow cathode chemical-vapor deposition of ultrathick hydrogenated amorphous carbon

Amorphous carbon is an attractive material for next-generation inertial confinement fusion (ICF) ablators due to its amorphous structure, tunable density, compatibility with dopants, chemical inertness, and mechanical robustness. Ablators are typically deposited as ultrathick (10–200 μm) coatings on removable spherical templates. The deposition of such thick amorphous carbon films is challenging due to high intrinsic compressive stress, which causes film buckling and delamination. Here, we study the deposition of amorphous carbon films by magnetized, radiofrequency-driven hollow cathode chemical vapor deposition with a custom-designed source in Ne plasmas. Emphasis is on the hollow-cathode source design and effects of the plasma discharge power and the precursor flow rate on film properties. We demonstrate deposition rates of >1 μm/h for films with hydrogen content of ∼40 at. %, densities of 1.1–1.7 g/cm 3 , and trace quantities of oxygen impurities. In conclusion, we also demonstrate the feasibility of depositing thick hydrogenated amorphous carbon films (∼30 μm) for ICF applications.

Carbon based materials↗

DOE OSTI2024

An octahedral Mach B-dot probe for 3D flows and magnetic fields in the edge of reversed field pinches

Measurements and simulations show that plasma relaxation processes in the reversed field pinch drive and redistribute both magnetic flux and momentum. To examine this relaxation process, a new 3D Mach B-dot probe has been constructed. This probe collects ion saturation currents through six molybdenum electrodes arranged on the flattened vertices of an octahedron made of boron nitride (BN). The ion saturation current flows through configurable voltage dividers for measurement and returns through one of six selectable return electrodes equally spaced along the 12 cm BN probe arm. In addition, the probe arm houses three B-dot magnetic pickup coils in the BN stalk immediately below to the octahedron, to measure the local magnetic field. Inserted in the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) during deuterium discharges with 220 kA plasma current, density of 0.8 × 10 13 cm –3 , the probe collects ion saturation currents with sawtooth-like peaks correlated with relaxation events. This compact octahedral design fitting six Mach electrode surfaces within a 1 cm3 cube will enable future multi-point, multi-field probes compatible with the 1.5 in. ports of MST. Such probes will allow for flow circulation, current, and canonical vorticity to be calculated in the center of the finite difference stencil formed by the measurement locations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Triboplasma assisted chemical conversion in granular systems: a semi-analytic model

We present a semi-analytic model for a novel plasma-assisted chemical conversion pathway using triboplasmas generated in granular flows. Triboelectric charge relaxation is a well known phenomena where the potential generated from contact charging of particles exceeds the breakdown voltage of the background gas. In this work, we extend the triboelectric charge relaxation theory to include non equilibrium plasma energy and particle balance equations to predict the formation of dissociated and excited species that act as precursors to chemical conversion, for example in plasma-assisted ammonia synthesis. Our example case study with nitrogen background gas and teflon/aluminum tribomaterial system yielded high excited nitrogen species densities per collision that are comparable to current plasma-assisted conversion pathways. We also present a regime diagram for various gases where Paschen breakdown parameters are used to determine whether triboplasmas can be formed for a given effective work-function difference between two materials. Our sensitivity studies indicate particle velocity, particle radius, solids fraction and space charge effects play a critical role in overall plasma densities and excited species production.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2024

Emergent actin flows explain distinct modes of gliding motility

During host infection, Toxoplasma gondii and related unicellular parasites move using gliding, which differs fundamentally from other known mechanisms of eukaryotic cell motility. Gliding is thought to be powered by a thin layer of flowing filamentous (F)-actin sandwiched between the plasma membrane and a myosin-covered inner membrane complex. How this surface actin layer drives the various gliding modes observed in experiments—helical, circular, twirling and patch, pendulum or rolling—is unclear. Here we suggest that F-actin flows arise through self-organization and develop a continuum model of emergent F-actin flow within the confines provided by Toxoplasma geometry. In the presence of F-actin turnover, our model predicts the emergence of a steady-state mode in which actin transport is largely directed rearward. Removing F-actin turnover leads to actin patches that recirculate up and down the cell, which we observe experimentally for drug-stabilized actin bundles in live Toxoplasma gondii parasites. These distinct self-organized actin states can account for observed gliding modes, illustrating how different forms of gliding motility can emerge as an intrinsic consequence of the self-organizing properties of F-actin flow in a confined geometry.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

Observation of weakly damped modes using high resolution measurement of turbulence in a dipole confined plasma

When plasma is confined by a levitated superconducting current ring, the turbulent radial particle flux changes the direction depending upon the gradient of the particle number within tubes of equal magnetic flux [Garnier et al., Phys. Plasmas 24, 012506 (2017)]. When the density profile is highly peaked, the particle flux is outward. When the density profile is less peaked, turbulence drives an inward “particle pinch.” This change in the direction of particle flux coincides with a reversal of the mean toroidal propagation direction of turbulent fluctuations. Previously, only the mean wavenumber of the fluctuations was reported. The mean wavenumber was computed from the ensemble correlation between two probes. Here, the full frequency-wavenumber power spectrum of the saturated turbulence is calculated by applying Capon’s “maximum likelihood method” to floating potential measurements from an array of probes. The power spectrum shows that the highest intensity modes are due to unstable entropy modes, and the less intense modes coincide with weakly damped convective cells, which rotate toroidally in the direction opposite to the unstable modes. Because the weakly damped modes make up a significant fraction of the fluctuating power, these measurements imply that saturated turbulence in a dipole-confined plasma involves the excitation of weakly damped rotating convective cells.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Effects of hydrogen isotope species on ITG microturbulence in LHD

Abstract The linear and nonlinear effects of hydrogen isotope species on ion temperature gradient (ITG) instability in the Large Helical Device (LHD) stellarator are studied using radially global gyrokinetic simulation. We found that the coupling range of linear toroidal harmonics depends on the ion mass of the hydrogen isotope. The growth rates of ITG mode are almost the same for H, D, and T plasmas, indicating a gyro-Bohm scaling of ion-mass dependence. The nonlinear electrostatic simulations show that the zonal flow breaks the radially elongated eigenmode structures and reduces the size of the turbulence eddies, which suppresses the turbulence and the ion heat transport in the LHD. The turbulence amplitude without the zonal flow is almost the same for H, D, and T plasmas, while it decreases with increasing ion mass of the hydrogen isotope when the zonal flow is present. The reduction of the turbulent transport with larger ion mass is mostly due to the enhancement of zonal flows by larger ion mass. The ion heat conductivity deviates from the gyro-Bohm scaling for both cases with and without the zonal flow.

Physics↗

DOE OSTI2020

A new mechanism for filament disconnection at the X-point: poloidal shear in radial E × B velocity

Plasma filaments generated by turbulence in the scrape-off layer are sometimes observed in experiments and simulations to disconnect from the target plate in the vicinity of the X-point, resulting in a ‘quiescent zone’ with reduced fluctuations, possibly affecting the fluctuating part of the divertor heat loads. This phenomena is usually explained by the flux tubes squeezing, induced by flux expansion, down to scales where collisions dominate. In this work, we consider an additional mechanism spontaneously arising at the X-point: the poloidal shear in radial E × B velocity. Through a simple model, tested against 3D global turbulence simulations, herein we quantify the effectiveness of this disconnection mechanism and identify ways to control it.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Investigation of two-dimensional radio-frequency sheath properties using a microscale fluid model

Abstract In previous work (Kohno and Myra 2023 Comput. Phys. Commun. 291 108841), we developed a numerical scheme based on a two-dimensional microscale radio-frequency (RF) sheath model with periodically curved wall boundaries. Here, we expand the capability of this scheme through modification of the boundary conditions (BCs) on the conducting walls, which allows the ion flow to turn back to the plasma at locations on the walls where the electromagnetic force on the ions is reversed from its usual direction. Numerical simulations are carried out to investigate the dependences of the surface-integrated admittances on the wall bump height, ion magnetization, ion mobility, and the magnetic field angle, and to visualize the sheath structures in several cases. One of the main results is the ion cyclotron admittance resonance observed under the condition of low ion mobility (high normalized frequency). It is shown that the amplitude of the resonance peak depends on the wall bump height and the ion velocity is reversed on the sides of the bump in an RF cycle for the resonance cases. Furthermore, the differences in the admittances between the one- and two-dimensional microscale models are assessed for the purpose of understanding non-locality of the sheath near the wall surface for the parameters considered in this study. This information will be essential for improving the sheath BC for macroscale calculations in the future.

Kohno, H. (ORCID:0000000332690010)↗

DOE OSTI2023

Comptonization by reconnection plasmoids in black hole coronae – III. Dependence on the guide field in pair plasma

ABSTRACT We perform non-radiative two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of magnetic reconnection for various strengths of the guide field (perpendicular to the reversing field), in magnetically dominated electron–positron plasmas. Magnetic reconnection under such conditions could operate in accretion disc coronae around black holes. There, it has been suggested that the transrelativistic bulk motions of reconnection plasmoids containing inverse-Compton-cooled electrons could Compton-upscatter soft photons to produce the observed non-thermal hard X-rays. Our simulations are performed for magnetizations 3 ≤ σ ≤ 40 (defined as the ratio of enthalpy density of the reversing field to plasma enthalpy density) and guide field strengths 0 ≤ Bg/B0 ≤ 1 (normalized to the reversing field strength B0). We find that the mean bulk energy of the reconnected plasma depends only weakly on the flow magnetization but strongly on the guide field strength – with Bg/B0 = 1 yielding a mean bulk energy twice smaller than Bg/B0 = 0. Similarly, the dispersion of bulk motions around the mean – a signature of stochasticity in the plasmoid chain’s motions – is weakly dependent on magnetization (for σ ≳ 10) but strongly dependent on the guide field strength – dropping by more than a factor of two from Bg/B0 = 0 to Bg/B0 = 1. In short, reconnection in strong guide fields (Bg/B0 ∼ 1) leads to slower and more ordered plasmoid bulk motions than its weak guide field (Bg/B0 ∼ 0) counterpart.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

DOE OSTI2023

Enhanced phagocytosis and complement-mediated killing of Mannheimia haemolytica serotype 1 following in-frame CMP-sialic acid synthetase ( neuA ) gene deletion

ABSTRACT Mannheimia haemolyticais the most significant bacterial pathogen associated with the bovine respiratory disease complex. Although sialic acid is a known virulence factor in other members of Pasteurellaceae, such asHistophilus somniandPasteurella multocida, the significance of sialic acid to the virulence ofM. haemolyticais currently unknown. Therefore, the role of sialic acid as a virulence determinant ofM. haemolyticawas investigated by constructing an in-frameneuA[CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac/sialic) synthetase] mutant, which was shown by high-performance anion exchange chromatographic analysis (HPAEC) to be devoid of sialic acid on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Both theneuAmutant and wild-type parent strains exhibited similar growth rates in the growth curve assay. Real-time qPCR and ELISA evaluation showed no differences in proinflammatory cytokine expressions (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8) between theneuAmutant and parent strain when peripheral blood mononuclear cells were incubated with LPS. Interestingly, theneuAmutant was three to four logs more sensitive to a whole-blood bacterial killing assay than the parent strain. Similar results were also observed in plasma and serum bacterial killing assays. Flow cytometry analyses showed higher uptake ofneuAmutant by phagocytes, compared to the parent strain, in the whole-blood phagocytosis assay; however, no difference in reactive oxygen species production in neutrophils or monocytes was detected for either strain. Taken together, these results indicate that sialylation ofM. haemolyticaLPS plays a vital role in reducing complement-mediated and phagocytic killing. IMPORTANCE The Gram-negative coccobacillusMannheimia haemolyticais a natural inhabitant of the upper respiratory tract in ruminants and the most common bacterial agent involved in bovine respiratory disease complex development. Key virulence factors harbored byM. haemolyticaare leukotoxin, lipopolysaccharide, capsule, adhesins, and neuraminidase which are involved in evading innate and adaptive immune responses. In this study, we have shown that CMP-sialic acid synthetase (neuA) is necessary for the incorporation of sialic acid onto the membrane, and inactivation ofneuAresults in increased phagocytosis and complement-mediated killing ofM. haemolytica,thus demonstrating that sialylation contributes to the virulence ofM. haemolytica.

Microbiology↗

DOE OSTI2025

Analysis of Liquids Using the Submerged Plasma for Isotopic Detection and Elemental Resolution (SPIDER)

We developed a sensor called the Submerged Plasma for Isotopic Detection and Elemental Resolution (SPIDER) probe, which uses an atmospheric pressure glow discharge below the surface of liquids to excite species in the liquid. Through emission spectroscopy of molten salts, liquid metals, and heavy water, we demonstrated the SPIDER probe’s high resolution, accuracy, and versatility. We successfully identified trace concentrations of transition and rare-earth metals in molten salts and detected the isotopic shift of the H β → D β emission line. Our analysis revealed unconventional spectral alkali line shapes, indicating two competing excitation modes: film explosion and droplet vaporization. The film explosion mode, characterized by dense plasma, exhibited self-reversal and broadband continuum emission, while the droplet vaporization mode, associated with diffusive plasma, produced narrow-line emissions. Furthermore, by analyzing circuit transients alongside individual plasma events, we observed that film explosions generate higher currents, likely due to a shorter plasma length as the current preferentially flows through the thin liquid layer. Altogether, our results highlight the SPIDER probe’s efficacy and flexibility, making it well-suited for online material quantification of liquids in extreme environments.

AES↗

DOE OSTI2026

INFUSE:FLARED (Final Technical Report)

This report summarizes the final outcomes of the INFUSE:FLARED collaboration between Tokamak Energy (TE), the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and the Department of Energy (DOE). The project aimed to experimentally determine and model the pumping, absorption, and separation behavior of deuterium in flowing liquid lithium under gas and plasma exposure conditions. The work supports the development of lithium-based plasma-facing components (PFCs) and tritium management strategies for next-generation fusion plants.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Inferring Heat Flow in Laser Absorption Regions using Diagnostic Magnetic Fields

This research was motivated by the desire to obtain a measurement of heat-flow in overdense regions of a laser ablated plasma for the first time using a high energy proton beam. For sufficiently high energies, the proton beam can pass through overdense regions and only be deflected by electric and magnetic fields. As the transport of magnetic fields in a plasma are intrinsically linked to the transport of thermal energy, it was posited that such a measurement could be used to infer a heat-flow. While the project did not prove the method to be infeasible, difficulties with understanding the proton radiographs without an imposed magnetic field made the final aim of this project unreached. Instead, however, a closer understanding of proton radiographs of laser-solid interactions without an imposed field has been obtained. 5 shot days on The OMEGA Laser Facility have been awarded (3 through ICF and 2 as ride-along) to further investigate some of these features. Extrapolating current results to hohlraum conditions has the magnetic energy being a significant (10%) fraction of the laser drive energy, which has the potential to explain the NIF hohlraum drive deficit.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Inferring Heat Flow in Laser Absorption Regions using Diagnostic Magnetic Fields: Abstract

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗