Hybrid Waves Research Articles

Utilizing parametric instabilities to diagnose edge density fluctuations in TCV

Abstract Two-plasmon decay instabilities (TPDIs) are a class of parametric instabilities where a gyrotron beam, polarized in X-mode, decays nonlinearly into two upper hybrid waves at approximately half frequency. Here, we present the design of a simple radiometer that was installed at Tokamak á configuration variable to diagnose TPDIs as well as a novel technique that was used to calibrate the radiometer using thermal electron cyclotron emissions. We show examples of measured radiation from TPDIs that occur when the gyrotron beam intersects blob filaments in the scrape-off layer and demonstrate that the frequency separation of the TPDI daughter waves can be used to assess the densities of the blob filaments. This technique could be utilized to diagnose density fluctuations due to both blobs, ELMs, and rotating magnetic islands.

High-order solitary waves, fission, hybrid waves and interaction solutions in the nonlinear dissipative (2+1)-dimensional Zabolotskaya-Khokhlov model

The Zabolotskaya-Khokhlov model (ZKm) is a widely used nonlinear model in the fields of sound, ultrasound, and shock waves. The aims of this paper stems from its examination and rectification of earlier results concerning the N-soliton solutions of nonlinear dissipative (2+1)-dimensional ZKm. By recognizing and incorporating the non-zero values of the dispersion coefficient , this study addresses a significant omission in current research. The findings enhance the comprehension of higher-order soliton behaviors, encompassing bifurcation solitons, higher-order breathers, rogue waves, periodic lumps, and their interactions, which are crucial for both theoretical studies and practical applications in areas like nonlinear optics and fluid dynamics. Subsequent detailed numerical simulations are conducted to elucidate the complex behaviors of the obtained solutions. This thorough exploration provides crucial insights into the intricate patterns exhibited by the nonlinear dissipative (2+1)-dimensional ZKm under different conditions, enhancing our understanding of the underlying physical phenomena.

Stimulated Brillouin scattering in silica optical nanofibers

Stimulated Brillouin scattering offers a broad range of applications, including lasers, sensors, and microwave photonics, most of which require strong Brillouin gain within a narrow bandwidth. Here, we experimentally report the first measurement of stimulated Brillouin scattering in silica optical nanofibers from both hybrid and surface acoustic waves. Using a pump–probe technique in the radio frequency domain, we measured a Brillouin gain as high as 15 m−1 W−1 and linewidth to 16 MHz for the L03 hybrid acoustic mode near 9 GHz using a 990-nm diameter nanofiber. This gain is 65 times larger than the highest gain obtained in standard single-mode fibers. In addition, we report a Brillouin gain of up to 5 m−1 W−1 from surface acoustic waves around 5 GHz. We further demonstrate a nanofiber-based Brillouin laser with a threshold of 350 mW. Our results create opportunities for advanced Brillouin-based applications utilizing optical nanofibers.

Excitation of electrostatic lower hybrid wave by nonlinear interaction of hermite cosh-gaussian and cosh-gaussian laser beams in collisional plasma embedded with static magnetic field

Excitation of electrostatic lower hybrid wave by nonlinear interaction of hermite cosh-gaussian and cosh-gaussian laser beams in collisional plasma embedded with static magnetic field

The onset of parametric decay of lower hybrid waves during lower hybrid current drive experiments on Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak

Abstract An ad hoc calculation is presented to interpret the growth of sideband waves during lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) experiments on Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). We adopt the solution of the non-linear dispersion relation for parametric instabilities to describe the growth rate of ion cyclotron quasi-modes (ICQMs) in the peripheral plasma, and use the WKB solution of the propagation of electrostatic waves in two dimensions to model the variation of the electric field in the scrape-off-layer (SOL). We then calculate the growth rates and amplification factors of the sideband waves associated with ICQM in the parallel and perpendicular coupling limits. The onset and substantial growth of the first down-shifted sideband of lower hybrid waves (LHWs) are associated with elevation of the plasma density in the outer SOL where the growth rate of ICQM in the parallel coupling limit increases sharply after the density is elevated. The peak frequencies associated with the first harmonic of ICQM obtained from calculating the amplification factors in the parallel coupling limit ( A para ) agree very well with the observed frequencies of the first down-shifted sideband of 2.45 GHz LHWs in EAST pulse 43 772 and 86 521. The consistency between the calculation and the observation indicates that the sideband waves are associated with parametric decay instability of ICQM excited in the outer SOL through parallel coupling. The amplitude of A para obtained from a single pass of LHWs through the SOL of EAST is, however, one order of magnitude smaller than unity, meaning that it remains elusive whether the substantial growth of sideband waves mainly occurs in front of the antenna or requires multiple passes of LHWs across the SOL region.

Effect of spin quantum force on lower and upper hybrid waves’ instability under the influence of an electron beam in a magnetized semiconductor plasma

Effect of spin quantum force on lower and upper hybrid waves’ instability under the influence of an electron beam in a magnetized semiconductor plasma

Lower hybrid and solitary waves in dusk flank region of the Earth’s magnetosphere

A variety of plasma waves have been detected in the vicinity of the magnetopause by various spacecraft missions. In this paper, utilizing high-resolution data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, we present new observations of simultaneous lower hybrid and ion solitary waves in the dusk flank region of Earth’s magnetosphere. All four MMS spacecraft consistently observed this wave activity during their traversal from Earth’s magnetosphere to the magnetosheath. Our analysis suggests that the lower hybrid drift waves, driven by lower-hybrid drift instability, were observed in correlation with density gradients. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that the entire ion bulk population drifts, which drives ion solitary waves. It is found that these waves play a crucial role in particle heating in the dusk flank region of Earth’s magnetosphere.

Parametric Study of the Harmonic Structure of Lower Hybrid Waves Driven by Energetic Ions

Parametric Study of the Harmonic Structure of Lower Hybrid Waves Driven by Energetic Ions

Overview of recent experimental results on the EAST Tokamak

Since the last IAEA-FEC in 2021, significant progress on the development of long pulse steady state scenario and its related key physics and technologies have been achieved, including the reproducible 403 s long-pulse steady-state H-mode plasma with pure radio frequency (RF) power heating. A thousand-second time scale (∼1056 s) fully non-inductive plasma with high injected energy up to 1.73 GJ has also been achieved. The EAST operational regime of high β P has been significantly extended (H 98y2 > 1.3, β P ∼ 4.0, β N ∼ 2.4 and n e/n GW ∼ 1.0) using RF and neutral beam injection (NBI). The full edge localized mode suppression using the n = 4 resonant magnetic perturbations has been achieved in ITER-like standard type-I ELMy H-mode plasmas with q 95 ≈ 3.1 on EAST, extrapolating favorably to the ITER baseline scenario. The sustained large ELM control and stable partial detachment have been achieved with Ne seeding. The underlying physics of plasma-beta effect for error field penetration, where toroidal effect dominates, is disclosed by comparing the results in cylindrical theory and MARS-Q simulation in EAST. Breakdown and plasma initiation at low toroidal electric fields (<0.3 V m−1) with EC pre-ionization is developed. A beneficial role on the lower hybrid wave injection to control the tungsten concentration in the NBI discharge is observed for the first time in EAST suggesting a potential way toward steady-state H-mode NBI operation.

Novel hybrid waves solutions of Sawada–Kotera like integrable model arising in fluid mechanics

The purpose of the paper is to uncover more advanced soliton solutions for the three-component Sawada–Kotera (SK)-like equation. The Hirota bilinear (HB) method is exploited to obtain a bilinear form and general solution to the three-component SK like equation. The study explores various soliton solutions by considering multiple dispersion coefficients. The focus is on multiple bifurcated solitons, hybrid breathers, periodic lumps, and periodic rogue waves, as well as the resonance in soliton solutions. The fission or fusion processes of solitons are analyzed for specific values of parameters. From the literature, real Y-shaped and X-shaped solitons in water waves are provided. The results are presented through graphs generated using MATLAB 2021. The important feature of the proposed study is to show different behavior of the soliton in each component. The behavior of solitons, their interactions, and their transformations are all governed by the fundamental concept of energy conservation in all three cases. The amplitudes and forms of the solitons are impacted by the energy redistribution that occurs during collisions, fission, or other interactions. Understanding these energy dynamics aids in predicting how these nonlinear wave events would behave in complex systems and sheds light on the fundamental physics of these phenomena.

On the Effect of Two-Dimensional Plasma Inhomogeneity in a Magnetic Island on the Parametric Excitation Threshold of Trapped Upper Hybrid Waves and the Level of Anomalous Absorption in ECRH Experiments

The effect of two-dimensional localization of an upper hybrid (UH) wave in a magnetic island is found. The influence of this effect on the threshold and saturation level of the absolute parametric decay instability of an extraordinary wave, which results in the excitation of two two-dimensional localized UH waves, is investigated.

Investigation of electromagnetic fluctuations in a magnetically screened high beta plasma

We report low-frequency electromagnetic turbulence in large-volume plasma devices in a region that receives magnetically screened plasma. The magnetic screen is produced by the activation of a large solenoid that generates a strong magnetic field ( BEEF ) transverse to the background axial magnetic field ( Bz ). The magnetic field strength variation in BEEF controls the plasma diffusion and is responsible for parametric profile modifications in large volume plasma devices. The turbulence is characterized by the observed features of an electromagnetic mode having frequency ordering in the lower hybrid range (f ci < f < f LH). The free energy source for the excited turbulence is believed to be the prevalent finite radial pressure gradient in the system. The excited electromagnetic mode shows typical scales for the wave number, k⊥ ∼ 0.13 cm−1 and frequency f ∼ 6 kHz and propagates with phase velocity comparable to ion acoustic velocity, C s in electron diamagnetic drift direction. It is believed that the low-frequency pressure gradient-driven electromagnetic mode exhibits coupling with the lower hybrid or whistler wave.

Versatile multi-energy hard x-ray camera to study confined and unconfined fast electron dynamics and anisotropies (Invited).

A powerful and flexible hard x-ray (HXR) camera has been recently installed and tested on the WEST tokamak (CEA, France) in collaboration with the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. The diagnostic is a pinhole camera fielded with a 2D pixel detector equipped with a 1mm thick CdTe sensor. The novelty of this diagnostic technique is the detector's capability of adjusting the threshold energy at the pixel level. This innovation provides great flexibility in the energy configuration, allowing simultaneous space, energy, and time resolved x-ray measurements. The novel camera has been used to measure the core radiation from non-Maxwellian (fast) electrons accelerated by Lower Hybrid (LH) waves and also the beam-target emission of tungsten in the divertor region produced by fast electron losses interacting with the target. In addition, anisotropic hard x-ray emission has been detected for the first time at the WEST core and edge plasma, with opposite toroidal intensity trends. Experimental vertical and toroidal HXR profiles have been successfully reproduced with the LH code LUKE.

Nonlinear lower hybrid wave equations in collisional tokamak plasmas

A new set of coupled integro-differential nonlinear lower hybrid (LH) wave equations is derived within the framework of a kinetic theory coupled to the Maxwell equations to study the parametric instabilities (PIs) produced by LH waves in collisional tokamak plasma. Previous models of nonlinear LH wave equations have been significantly improved. The wave equations derived overcome the limits and incorrectness of the standard theory of the PI in inhomogeneous plasma. They allow us to treat the full spectrum in the parallel and poloidal wavenumber of the coupled LH power wave, diffraction effects and possible cascade phenomena, which are elements of the nonlinear LH physics ignored in the standard PI theory. Numerical solutions of the new nonlinear LH wave equations are proposed. The relevant LH frequency spectra produced by PI are calculated, exhibiting characteristic features of PI observed in LH experiments. It is shown that the LH sideband amplification can be overestimated by orders of magnitude by the standard theory of PI. A benchmark of the new model is provided for spatially homogeneous plasmas. The role of the collisions for PI has been assessed. We demonstrate that previous analyses significantly overestimated their stabilization effect.

Generalized [formula omitted]-fold Darboux transformation and localized waves for an integrable reduced spin Hirota-Maxwell-Bloch system in an erbium doped fiber

In this paper, under investigation is an integrable reduced spin Hirota-Maxwell-Bloch (rsHMB) system, which describes the transmission of the femtosecond pulses in an erbium doped fiber. Based on the existing N-fold Darboux transformation, we establish a generalized (n,N−n)-fold Darboux transformation for the rsHMB system, where n and N are the positive integers (n≤N). The Nth-order degenerate soliton and Nth-order rogue-wave solutions for the rsHMB system are obtained via the generalized (1,N−1)-fold Darboux transformation. By means of the generalized (2,N−2)-fold Darboux transformation, we derive the Nth-order hybrid wave solutions describing the interaction between the (N−1)th-order rogue wave and the first-order breather. The above solutions are discussed graphically, which exhibit the diverse wave structures including the triangle and pentagon, among others.

Two-Dimensional Axisymmetric Finite Element Simulation of Lower Hybrid Wave with an Iterative Scheme

Two-Dimensional Axisymmetric Finite Element Simulation of Lower Hybrid Wave with an Iterative Scheme

On possibility of anomalous microwave power absorption and gyrotron frequency sub-harmonics emission in X2-mode ECRH experiments at the TCV tokamak

In this paper, we analyze theoretically the low-threshold parametric decay instability (PDI) that can be excited at the tokamak à configuration variable (TCV tokamak, Lausanne, Switzerland) during X2 electron cyclotron resonance heating experiments producing a two-dimensionally localized upper hybrid (UH) wave and a daughter extraordinary wave running from the decay layer outward to the plasma edge. The primary instability is then saturated due to the cascade of secondary decays into two-dimensionally localized UH and ion Bernstein waves. The level of plasma microwave emission in the frequency range substantially below half the pump wave frequency and of anomalous power losses of the pump are predicted.

Experimental investigation of PDI bifurcation of lower hybrid waves during electron density ramp-up in EAST

The effect of parametric decay instability (PDI) on the current drive efficiency of 4.6 GHz lower hybrid (LH) waves in EAST is investigated experimentally, showing the PDI channel bifurcation of LH waves for the first time in EAST. First, experiments with three platforms of LH power were performed, achieving the LH power required for the PDI occurrence. Second, PDI bifurcation experiments were further carried out by ramping up the plasma electron density. The loop voltage increases with an increase in density, implying a decrease in the current driven by the LH wave. PDI bifurcation during electron density ramp-up was studied by analyzing the parallel refractive index ( n∥ ) and the frequency spectrum broadening, which is measured with a radio frequency magnetic probe array recently installed close to the LH antenna. It is observed for the first time that they both first increase with density, then there is not much variation and a clear sideband in the frequency spectrum is also observed when the density is up to 4×1019 m−3 , suggesting a change in the PDI channel. Calculation of the mode growth rate driven by PDI shows that when the edge electron density is up to 1.9×1018 m−3 , the growth rate of the ion cyclotron quasi-mode (ICQM) will exceed that of the ion sound quasi-mode (ISQM), quantitively explaining that with an increase in density, the PDI channel partly transits from the ISQM to the ICQM channel. Studies provide a possible way to reduce the power deposition in the edge region and improve drive capability by means of mitigating PDI behavior.

Studies of the outer-off-midplane lower hybrid wave launch scenario for plasma start-up on the TST-2 spherical tokamak

Establishment of an efficient central solenoid (CS) free tokamak plasma start-up method may lead to an economical fusion reactor. CS-free start-up using lower hybrid (LH) waves has been studied on the TST-2 spherical tokamak. Plasma current of about a quarter of CS-driven discharges has been obtained fully non-inductively using the outer-midplane and top LH launchers. Recently, an outer-off-midplane LH launcher was developed to achieve higher plasma current by optimizing for core absorption and minimal fast electron losses. Using the (outer-)off-midplane launcher, fully non-inductive plasma current start-up up to about 8 kA was achieved. Coupled ray-tracing and Fokker–Planck simulation was performed on equilibria reconstructed with an extended MHD model. It was found that the experimentally observed plasma current was in reasonable agreement with the numerical simulation. The simulation predicted appreciable orbit losses for the off-midplane launcher driven discharge at the present parameters, which was consistent with the experimentally observed x-ray radiation characteristics. The simulation showed that the current density was saturated for the present off-midplane launcher discharges and higher density and higher LH power was necessary to achieve higher plasma current.

Design and Performance Evaluation of the Energy Subsystem of a Hybrid Light and Wave Energy Harvester

Design and Performance Evaluation of the Energy Subsystem of a Hybrid Light and Wave Energy Harvester