Peripheral plasma measurement during SMBI in Heliotron J using fast cameras

Abstract

Since fueling technique is very important for maintaining fusion plasma, supersonic molecular beam injection (SMBI) was studied using mainly fast cameras, Hα measurement, Langmuir/magnetic probes, and electron density/diamagnetic measurement in Heliotron J. Using a fast camera with a tangential view a very bright stripe along the magnetic field line was observed during SMBI. Time-dependent FFT analysis of data from each pixel showed that the low frequency waves rotated around the magnetic field line in a left-handed sense at the initial stage of SMBI. After a few milliseconds they propagated towards the SMBI region along the magnetic field line, and their phase velocities were almost the same. Experimental evidence is consistent with the interpretation as the ion acoustic wave, and the peak frequency of these waves was the same as that of the power spectra of the magnetic probe signals. It suggests the slow magnetoacoustic wave may convert into the ion acoustic wave due to collisions with neutrals.