The Role of Alpha Particles in the Dynamics of Ring-Stabilized Devices

Abstract

The use of relativistic electron rings to stabilize plasmas against the interchange modes has been utilized in such devices as the Elmo Bumpy Torus (EBT) and the plugs of a Tandem Mirror device (STM). In the EBT case enhanced stability is reflected in higher betas (ratio of plasma to magnetic field pressures), while in the Tandem Mirror case symmetry in the plug magnetic geometry results in reduced particle diffusion across the magnetic field in the central cell. Regardless of the application, the question arises as to what effect would alpha particles generated by the Deuterium-Tritium (DT) reactions have on the stability of such ring-stabilized devices. In this paper the macroscopic stability of such systems is reexamined in order to assess the effect of alphas on the background interchange mode, the interacting interchange mode, and the high frequency compressional Alfvén and coupled modes. A fluid description is used for the background plasma while a kinetic treatment is utilized for the hot electron species and alpha particles. It is shown that the Alphas tend to mildly destabilize the interacting interchange while stabilizing the background interchange due to their sizable Larmor radii. The destabilization is most pronounced at high alpha energies i.e., at birth, and near complete recovery of stability is achieved as these particles approach thermalization with the background ions. It is also shown that the alphas completely stabilize the high frequency modes.