Neutral Penetration Research Articles

Impact of ionization and transport on pedestal density structure in DIII-D and Alcator C-Mod

Abstract This paper investigates the role of ionization on the pedestal structure using both measurements and modeling for H-mode plasmas on DIII-D and Alcator C-Mod to enhance our ability to predict pedestal behavior in future pilot plants. The impact of the neutral penetration depth on the pedestal density is investigated using dimensionally matching hydrogen and deuterium DIII-D H-mode discharges at low and high electron density. The DIII-D Lyman-α diagnostic measurements show that hydrogen neutrals penetrate deeper inside the plasma on both the high field and low field side, while the pedestal electron density structure is similar for both isotopes. However, as the opaqueness increases we observe that the pedestal density gradient becomes stiff, similar to prior observations on DIII-D and C-Mod (Mordijck 2020 Nuclear Fusion 60 082006). In addition, these results also confirm prior measured and modeled poloidal asymmetries in neutral densities, indicating that to make transport predictions, 2D neutral modeling is necessary. The first direct validation of SOLPS-ITER for the measured brightness, emissivity and neutral densities for three different confinement regimes on C-Mod is introduced. The SOLPS-ITER model shows good agreement, within the constrains of the model for all regimes. In addition, a comparison of SOLPS-ITER modeling for DIII-D and C-Mod shows that as opaqueness increases, the role of divertor fueling and thus poloidal asymmetries in the neutral density profiles decreases. Based on these experimental and modeling results we estimate the size of a potential particle pinch using typical values for the diffusion coefficient for both DIII-D and C-Mod H-mode discharges.

2D–4D Simulations of Neutral Particles Penetration into Central Plasma Region in the L-2M Stellarator. Verification of Results Using ASTRA Code

2D–4D Simulations of Neutral Particles Penetration into Central Plasma Region in the L-2M Stellarator. Verification of Results Using ASTRA Code

COMPASS Upgrade: a high-field tokamak for ITER- and DEMO-relevant research

To achieve their goals, future thermonuclear reactors such as ITER and DEMO are expected to operate plasmas with a high magnetic field, triangularity and confinement. To address the corresponding challenges, the concept of the high-field ( BT⩽ 5 T), high-current ( IP⩽ 2 MA) COMPASS Upgrade tokamak was established, and the device is currently being constructed in Prague, Czech Republic. This contribution provides an overview of the priority physics topics for the future physics programme of COMPASS Upgrade, namely: (i) characterisation of alternative confinement modes, (ii) a power exhaust including liquid metals, (iii) operation with a hot first wall and (iv) the influence of plasma shape on pedestal stability and confinement. The main scenarios are presented, as predicted by METIS and FIESTA codes. Pedestal pressure and density are estimated using EPED, multi-machine semi-empirical scaling and a neutral penetration model. Access to detachment is estimated using a detachment qualifier.

Density pedestal prediction model for tokamak plasmas

A model for the pedestal density prediction based on neutral penetration combined with pedestal transport is presented. The model is tested against a pedestal database of JET-ILW Type I ELMy H-modes showing good agreement over a wide range of parameters both in standalone modelling (using the experimental temperature profile) and in full Europed modelling that predicts both density and temperature pedestals simultaneously. The model is further tested for ASDEX Upgrade and MAST-U Type I ELMy H-modes and both are found to agree with the same model parameters as for JET-ILW. The JET-ILW experiment where the isotope of the main ion is varied in a D/T scan at constant gas rate and constant βN is successfully modelled as long as the separatrix density ( ne,sep) and pedestal transport coefficient ratio ( D/χ) are varied in accordance with the experimentally observed variation of ne,sep and the isotope dependence of D/χ found in gyrokinetic simulations. The predictions are found to be sensitive to ne,sep which is why the model is combined with an ne,sep model to predict the pedestal for the STEP fusion reactor.

The role of isotope mass on neutral fueling and density pedestal structure in the DIII-D tokamak

Experimental measurements on DIII-D of hydrogen neutral penetration lengths ( λn0 ) on the high field side (HFS) are longer by a factor of 2 than for deuterium consistent with the thermal velocity ratio for neutrals at the same temperature (vthH/vthD=2) . This ratio is constant for both low and high pedestal electron density. At low pedestal density (ne∼4×1019 m −3) , the neutral penetration length is greater than the density pedestal width for both isotopes, and the additional 40% increase of neutral penetration in hydrogen widens the pedestal by the same amount. As the density pedestal height increases (ne∼6×1019 m −3) , the neutral penetration lengths drop below the density pedestal widths for both isotopes, and the increased penetration of hydrogen has no increased effect on the pedestal width compared to deuterium. Extrapolating to future reactor-relevant high electron density pedestals, the isotope-mass change in neutral fueling on the HFS from the deepest neutral penetration of hydrogen, to the shortest neutral penetration of tritium will be negligible (0.2–0.4 cm) in comparison to estimates of the density pedestal width (6–8.5 cm).

Isotope physics of heat and particle transport with tritium in JET-ILW type-I ELMy H-mode plasmas

As part the DTE2 campaign in the JET tokamak, we conducted a parameter scan in T and D-T complementing existing pulses in H and D. For the different main ion masses, type-I ELMy H-modes at fixed plasma current and magnetic field can have the pedestal pressure varying by a factor of 4 and the total pressure changing from βN=1.0 to 3.0. We investigated the pedestal and core isotope mass dependencies using this extensive data set. The pedestal shows a strong mass dependence on the density, which influences the core due to the strong coupling between both plasma regions. To better understand the causes for the observed isotope mass dependence in the pedestal, we analysed the interplay between heat and particle transport and the edge localised mode (ELM) stability. For this purpose, we developed a dynamic ELM cycle model with basic transport assumptions and a realistic neutral penetration. The temporal evolution and resulting ELM frequency introduce an additional experimental constraint that conventional quasi-stationary transport analysis cannot provide. Our model shows that a mass dependence in the ELM stability or in the transport alone cannot explain the observations. One requires a mass dependence in the ELM stability as well as one in the particle sources. The core confinement time increases with pedestal pressure for all isotope masses due to profile stiffness and electromagnetic turbulence stabilisation. Interestingly, T and D-T plasmas show an improved core confinement time compared to H and D plasmas even for matched pedestal pressures. For T, this improvement is largely due to the unique pedestal composition of higher densities and lower temperatures than H and D. With a reduced gyroBohm factor at lower temperatures, more turbulent drive in the form of steeper gradients is required to transport the same amount of heat. This picture is supported by quasilinear flux-driven modelling using TGLF-SAT2 within Astra. With the experimental boundary condition TGLF-SAT2 predicts the core profiles well for gyroBohm heat fluxes >15 , however, overestimates the heat and particle transport closer to the turbulent threshold.

The measurement of carbon density profile using charge exchange spectroscopy in KSTAR

The first measurement of the impurity density profile via charge exchange spectroscopy (CES) has been successfully achieved in KSTAR. Since the neutral beam density profile is essential for the measurement, the neutral beam penetration code that was originally developed for the Alcator C-mod tokamak has been optimized for the KSTAR experimental environment. The method of the impurity density measurement by the KSTAR CES system is introduced and the sensitivity analysis of various physical parameters, such as the effective charge in the estimation of the impurity density, is performed to examine the validation of the method. This method has been applied to measure the C6+ density profile affected by the resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs), which is mainly used to suppress the edge localized modes (ELMs) in KSTAR. The dynamics of the C6+ density profile represent that the C6+ density decreases immediately after the application of RMPs but recovers soon during the ELM-suppressed phase.

In-out charge exchange measurements and 3D modelling of diagnostic thermal neutrals to study edge poloidal impurity asymmetries

A new method was developed to model the neutral population produced by the gas puff based charge exchange recombination spectroscopy systems at ASDEX Upgrade (AUG). With this method, the edge impurity density on the high field side (HFS) and low field side (LFS) can be obtained without the need to apply a neutral beam injection system. The neutral penetration needed for the calculation of the impurity density is obtained with a new gas puff module implemented in the FIDASIM code. The LFS impurity density profile evaluated with the new gas puff module matches the impurity density calculated with standard beam-based charge exchange diagnostics. Impurity temperature, rotation and density profiles at the HFS and LFS of an AUG H-mode discharge are presented. Edge impurity toroidal and poloidal flows show asymmetric structures. The impurity density asymmetries obtained with the new gas puff module are consistent with the observed flow structure.

Field-Switching Repeller Flowing Atmospheric-Pressure Afterglow Drift Tube Ion Mobility Spectrometry.

In this work, a field-switching (FS) technique is employed with a flowing atmospheric pressure afterglow (FAPA) source in drift tube ion mobility spectrometry (DTIMS). The premise is to incorporate a tip-repeller electrode as a substitute for the Bradbury-Nielsen gate (BNG) so as to overcome corresponding disadvantages of the BNG, including the gate depletion effect (GDE). The DTIMS spectra were optimized in terms of peak shape and full width by inserting an aperture at the DTIMS inlet that was used to control the neutral molecules' penetration into the separation region, thus preventing neutral-ion reactions inside. The FAPA and repeller's experimental operating conditions including drift and plasma gas flow rates, pulse injection times, repeller positioning and voltage, FAPA current, and effluent angle were optimized. Ion mobility spectra of selected compounds were captured, and the corresponding reduced mobility values were calculated and compared with the literature. The 6-fold improvements in limit of detection (LOD) compared with previous work were obtained for 2,6-DTBP and acetaminophen. The enhanced performance of the FS-FAPA-DTIMS was also investigated as a function of the GDE when compared with FAPA-DTIMS containing BNG.

An examination of the Neutral Penetration Model1/ne,pedscaling for its validity of spatially varying neutral sources

The core transport code, JETTO, coupled to the neutral Monte Carlo code, EIRENE, has been used to examine the sensitivity of the JET H-mode pedestal to the neutral flux crossing the separatrix. The Neutral Penetration Model (NPM) [Groebner et. al., Physics of Plasmas 9, 2134 (2002)] predicts the width of the density pedestal along the neutral path to scale with the inverse of its height: 1/ne,ped. By keeping the same physics assumptions in the NPM, and setting the deuterium atoms to cross the separatrix at the same location as the synthetic diagnostic line of sight (i.e. at the outer mid-plane, OMP), we were able to reproduce this scaling in JETTO-EIRENE. However, when the atoms were set to cross the separatrix at the X-point (more consistent with EDGE2D-EIRENE simulations of JET H-modes), the density width at the OMP was found to be much more sensitive to the pedestal height (approximately proportional to 1/ne,ped2). This is attributed to a radial variation in the poloidal flux expansion from OMP to X-point, over the range of ionisation mean free path lengths explored in the scan. Accounting for this variation allowed the expected scaling at the OMP to be recovered. Implications are discussed for experimental comparisons to the NPM and its application to pedestal prediction models.

Reduced-model scrape-off layer turbulence (nSOLT) simulations comparing three fueling scenarios

The 2D scrape-off-layer turbulence code (nSOLT) includes 1D Boltzmann neutral–plasma interactions, a model of divertor recycling (introduced here), and a fixed source of plasma concentrated at the core-side boundary. Three fueling methods are considered herein: (1) neutral injection in the far-SOL is accomplished by specifying the density of Franck–Condon distributed neutrals streaming in from the boundary. (2) Divertor recycling is modeled by injecting a fraction of the particle parallel flux in the scrape-off layer (SOL) back into the edge region as a source of plasma. (3) A constant source fuels the edge plasma from the core-side boundary to model pellet injection. For machine parameters (B, Rm, and L//) illustrative of the MAST-U device, and for a deuterium plasma, turbulent equilibria are obtained that share the same plasma fueling rate for each of the three fueling methods, with only one of the sources on in each case. In the presence of self-consistent turbulence, quasi-steady plasma and neutral (deuterium) profiles, fueling efficiencies, SOL transparencies, and heat flux widths are compared. Characteristics of the turbulent fluctuations, including skewness, cross-phases, and power spectra, are described. The calculated fueling efficiencies, SOL transparencies to neutral penetration, and many of the turbulent properties are remarkably similar for all three fueling methods despite significant differences in the plasma profiles. The nonlinear states of the three cases are dominated by separatrix-spanning vortex cells that control particle and heat losses into the SOL.

The role of edge fueling in determining the pedestal density in high neutral opacity Alcator C-Mod experiments

SOLPS-ITER modeling of EDA H-mode experiments on Alcator C-Mod find that the electron density pedestal structure is unaffected by increased gas fueling when approaching ITER-like opaqueness conditions. SOLPS-ITER simulations show a decrease in the neutral penetration depth with increasing pedestal density, similar to prior experiments (Hughes et al., 2006). Neutral density and penetration depth vary poloidally, and we show that the highest neutral densities at the separatrix are found closest to the gas puff locations both on the high field side and the low field side. The decrease in the neutral penetration depth with increasing pedestal density, as well as the decrease in the neutral density at the separatrix, are not just limited to the midplane, but persist at every poloidal location. We find, however, that when gas puffs of similar magnitude as those employed in experiments are added, a much larger increase in the electron density is observed over the whole modeled plasma radius. This does suggest that changes in transport will need to be included self-consistently. • SOLPS-ITER provides insight on the dynamics of neutrals in high opacity H-modes. • SOL neutral opacity can be quantified by radial neutral density e-folding length. • Density pedestal formation is mostly unaffected as pedestal opacity increases. increases. • High gas-puffing only moderately increases neutral penetration of the pedestal. • At high pedestal opacity, main chamber fueling dominates fueling through the X-point.

Isotope dependence of the type I ELMy H-mode pedestal in JET-ILW hydrogen and deuterium plasmas

The pedestal structure, edge transport and linear MHD stability have been analyzed in a series of JET with the ITER-like wall hydrogen (H) and deuterium (D) type I ELMy H-mode plasmas. The pedestal pressure is typically higher in D than in H at the same input power and gas rate, with the difference mainly due to lower density in H than in D (Maggi et al (JET Contributors) 2018 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 60 014045). A power balance analysis of the pedestal has shown that higher inter-ELM separatrix loss power is required in H than in D to maintain a similar pedestal top pressure. This is qualitatively consistent with a set of interpretative EDGE2D-EIRENE simulations for H and D plasmas, showing that higher edge particle and heat transport coefficients are needed in H than in D to match the experimental profiles. It has also been concluded that the difference in neutral penetration between H and D leads only to minor changes in the upstream density profiles and with trends opposite to experimental observations. This implies that neutral penetration has a minor role in setting the difference between H and D pedestals, but higher ELM and/or inter-ELM transport are likely to be the main players. The interpretative EDGE2D-EIRENE simulations, with simultaneous upstream and outer divertor target profile constraints, have indicated higher separatrix electron temperature in H than in D for a pair of discharges at low fueling gas rate and similar stored energy (which required higher input power in H than in D at the same gas rate). The isotope dependence of linear MHD pedestal stability has been found to be small, but if a higher separatrix temperature is considered in H than in D, this could lead to destabilization of peeling-ballooning modes and shrinking of the stability boundary, qualitatively consistent with the reduced pedestal confinement in H.

Outer midplane neutral density measurements and H-mode fueling studies in NSTX-U

Neutral density profiles are measured on the outboard midplane of the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) using a two dimensional camera (ENDD, edge neutral density diagnostic) filtered for deuterium Balmer α (D α ) emission interpreted via simulations using the Monte Carlo neutral transport code DEGAS 2. Deuterium atomic densities n D are calculated by inverting the line-integrated D α brightness and using local measurements of electron density n e and temperature T e to determine atomic rate coefficients. The assumptions used in the derivation of n D from D α emissivity are validated using DEGAS 2 to estimate contributions to emissivity due to electron impact excitation and molecular processes. Experimental measurements and DEGAS 2 simulations are compared over a database of L- and H-mode discharges, showing good agreement in D α emissivity profiles. Residual disagreement between experiment and simulations is suggestive of the possible role of intermittent transport and uncertainties in the molecular data. DEGAS 2 simulations are further used to complement the ENDD diagnostic, extracting neutral (atomic and molecular) densities at locations where the ENDD measurement are not made or where the assumptions used in the ENDD analysis are not valid. Deuterium atomic densities and ionization profiles on the outer midplane are compared for L-mode and H-mode discharges in NSTX-U. One-way coupling of DEGAS 2 to UEDGE multi-fluid simulations constrained by experimental data is used to study edge fueling and neutral penetration in NSTX-U discharges.

EDGE2D-EIRENE modeling of the impact of wall materials on core edge, scrape-off layer and divertor parameters

A series of EDGE2D-EIRENE cases was run in different wall materials of JET L-mode plasma with the input power close to the H-mode power threshold in ITER-like wall (ILW), with tungsten (W) covering the divertor, and beryllium (Be)—main chamber surfaces. Cases with all carbon (C) and all W walls were run at the same input power as in ILW cases. Contrary to expectations based on the idea that deeper penetration of neutrals re-emitted from surfaces with higher atomic mass into the plasma core raises core density, EDGE2D-EIRENE cases had the highest density in the C wall case. This is explained via the effect of the ‘power deficit’ in the divertor, as recycling neutrals deposit a fraction of their power into walls, thereby cooling the divertor plasma. This effect is stronger in C compared to W divertor surfaces. The plasma cooling in the divertor increases plasma density and neutral recycling, with more neutrals penetrating into the core. Metal wall (ILW and W wall) EDGE2D-EIRENE cases were found to have larger radial electric field (E r) both inside and outside of the separatrix, in line with the mechanism of the E × B shear turbulence suppression and experimental observations of lower H-mode power threshold in metal wall machines. The originally expected trend for higher core densities in metal wall machines, based on the effect of deeper penetration of neutrals re-emitted from higher atomic mass surfaces, was recovered in much lower density EDGE2D-EIRENE cases, where the effect of the power deficit in the divertor was less important. Subtle effects of interplay among mechanisms involving neutral circulation in the divertor and in the main chamber wall are considered to explain differences between ILW and W wall cases.

The Kv1.3 ion channel acts as a host factor restricting viral entry.

Virus entry into cells is the initial stage of infection and involves multiple steps, and interfering viral entry represents potential antiviral approaches. Ion channels are pore-forming membrane proteins controlling cellular ion homeostasis and regulating many physiological processes, but their roles during viral infection have rarely been explored. Here, the functional Kv1.3 ion channel was found to be expressed in human hepatic cells and tissues. The Kv1.3 was then revealed to restrict HCV entry via inhibiting endosome acidification-mediated viral membrane fusion. The Kv1.3 was also demonstrated to inhibit DENV and ZIKV with an endosome acidification-dependent entry, but have no effect on SeV with a neutral pH penetration. A Kv1.3 antagonist PAP-1 treatment accelerated animal death in ZIKV-infected Ifnar1-/- mice. Moreover, Kv1.3-deletion was found to promote weight loss and reduce survival rate in ZIKV-infected Kv1.3-/- mice. Altogether, the Kv1.3 ion channel behaves as a host factor restricting viral entry. These findings broaden understanding about ion channel biology.

An improved theory of the response of DIII-D H-mode discharges to static resonant magnetic perturbations and its implications for the suppression of edge localized modes

The plasma response to an externally generated, static, n = 2, resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) in the pedestal region of DIII-D H-mode discharge #158115 is investigated using a toroidal generalization of the asymptotic matching model presented by Fitzpatrick [Phys. Plasmas 27, 042506 (2020)]. Just as in a recent paper [Q. M. Hu et al., Phys. Plasmas 26, 120702 (2019)], it is hypothesized that the density pump-out phenomenon is due to locked magnetic island chains induced at the bottom of the pedestal, whereas the suppression of edge localized modes is associated with a locked magnetic island chain induced at the top of the pedestal. Neutral penetration inside the last closed magnetic flux-surface is found to have a significant influence on locked magnetic island chain formation at the bottom of the pedestal. It is found that locked island formation at the top of the pedestal is only possible when q95 lies in certain narrow windows. Finally, it is inferred that, in order to successfully induce a locked island chain at the top of the pedestal, an external RMP field-coil system must generate a magnetic field that is simultaneously strongly amplified by the plasma (via the ideal kink response) and has a large resonant component at a rational surface that lies close to the top of the pedestal.

Single stream or dual stream? A game-theoretic approach to the sustainable evolution in waste recycling systems

The rapid development of information and communication technologies has created more opportunities for the channel innovation in residential curbside collection and the technical revolution of material recovery facilities. In waste management, single stream allows the households to bundle the recyclable waste, and dual stream requires the households to separate the recyclable waste individually. However, the sustainable development of the environment has led the government to focus on the transition between two waste recycling systems. In this study, we establish an analytical framework of the sequential game to study the sustainable evolution from single stream to dual stream and from dual stream to single stream. When the households are heterogeneous about the recyclable waste, there is a duopoly price competition in waste management, and two waste recycling systems can sequentially adopt the neutral pricing, penetration pricing and skim pricing strategy. Numerical experiments discuss the impacts of collecting costs and bundling discounts on the sustainable evolution. No matter what the evolution sequence is, two waste recycling systems can set a full or partial bundling discount policy to maximize the profit.

Modeling of the Hα Emission from ADITYA Tokamak Plasmas

The spatial profile of Hα spectrum is regularly measured using a high-resolution multi-track spectrometer in ADITYA tokamak to study the neutral particle behavior. The Monte Carlo neutral particle transport code DEGAS2 is used to model the experimental Hα spectral emissions. Through the modeling of the spectral line profile of Hα, it is found that the neutral hydrogen, which is produced from molecular hydrogen and molecular hydrogen ion dissociation processes contributes 56% to the total Hα emission, and the atoms which are produced from charge-exchange process have 30% contribution. Furthermore, the experimentally measured spatial profile of chord integrated brightness was modeled for the two plasma discharges having relatively high and low density to understand the neutral particle penetration. The presence of neutrals inside the core region of the ADITYA tokamak is mainly due to the charge-exchange process. Furthermore, it is observed that neutral particle penetration is lower in higher density discharge.

Effect of thickness scaling on the permeability and thermal stability of Ta(N) diffusion barrier

Molecular and atomic permeability, thermal stability and interfacial reactions of ultrathin Ta, TaN and Ta/TaN stack as barrier to Cu/low - k interconnects have been studied. It is shown the barrier layers containing TaN and Ta/TaN have good thermal stability and barrier properties when their thickness is >3.5 nm while Ta cannot withstand 450 °C annealing. The thinner barriers are permeable for neutral molecules like heptane and demonstrate degradation of resistivity during the thermal anneal at 450 °C. Penetration of Ta precursors into low-k and formation of TaO/TaC type of bonds increase the dielectric function of low-k dielectric. Our results show that, on the low-k material with 23% porosity and 0.9 nm pore radius, the PVD deposited Ta(N) films <3.5 nm thick have poor barrier function and are sufficient for neutral molecules penetration, especially water molecules.