Utilization of (α, n) and (α, γ) Reactions for Measurements of Confinement and Velocity Distribution of Fast Alpha Particles

Abstract

For the purpose of diagnosing alpha particle confinement and velocity distributions in fusion plasmas we consider several (α, n) and (α, γ) reactions with impurities or introduced elements.Reaction rates and energy spectra of emerging particles under different conditions are discussed particularly with respect to potential measurements in the severe high neutron- and gamma background, originating from fusion reactions. The reactions considered will possibly provide information about total alpha particle confinement and velocity distribution particularly in the high energy range.Energy spectra of the emerging neutrons and gammas for different alpha particle distributions are calculated and possible pieces of information are discussed.Finally, we conclude that due to the nature of alpha particles one needs to utilize several reactions and also different kinds of diagnostics to fully explore confinement and velocity distribution of the alpha particles.