Carbon and oxygen behaviour in the reversed field pinch RFX

Abstract

The emission spectrum measured on the reversed field pinch RFX is dominated by carbon and oxygen lines. Nickel lines are seldom observed even though a large magnetic field perturbation causes intense plasma-wall interaction. The line emissions from hydrogen-like and helium-like ions observed in RFX are simulated by a collisional-radiative impurity diffusion model. An impurity diffusion coefficient of the order of 10 m2/s and an inward convective velocity of 90 m/s have been used for an adequate simulation of the hydrogen-like to helium-like resonant line ratios. The model can be used to estimate the effective charge of the plasma; the on-axis values in 800 kA discharges are found to range between 1.5 and 2.2, with peaks higher than 3 in the presence of carbon blooms. It is found that charge exchange processes with thermal hydrogen neutral atoms must be considered to account for the high G ratio values measured for carbon (0.6 to 0.7)