Three-dimensional Magnetic Configurations Research Articles

Studies of Dynamics of Neutral Component of Current Sheet Plasma, Based on Spectral Broadening of Helium Line He I 5876 Å

Spectroscopy methods were used for studying the dynamics of neutral plasma component in current sheets formed in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) magnetic configurations during discharge in helium. It has been ascertained that when the current sheet is formed in the 2D magnetic field, flows of fast suprathermal helium atoms appear in it, which are directed along the current sheet width (the largest of the sheet transverse dimensions). It is shown that helium atoms can acquire the directed energy Wx due to the resonance charge exchange of accelerated ions in the current sheet plasma. The energy of directed motion of helium atoms can reach Wx ≈ (480 ± 120) eV, which is ~20 times higher than the temperature of helium atoms Ta ≈ (20 ± 2) eV at the same times. During the current sheet formation in the 3D magnetic configuration, fast helium atoms were not observed.

Sequential Remote Brightenings and Co-spatial Fast Downflows during Two Successive Flares

Remote brightenings often appear at the outskirts of the active regions of solar eruptive events. Nevertheless, their origin remains to be ascertained. In this study, we report imaging and spectroscopic observations of sequential remote brightenings with a combination of observations from the Hα Imaging Spectrograph on board the Chinese Hα Solar Explorer, which is the first space-based solar telescope of China, and from the Solar Dynamics Observatory. It is found that during two successive M-class flares occurring on 2022 August 17 multiple ribbon-like brightenings appeared in sequence away from the flaring active region. Meanwhile, abundant cool filament materials moved downward to the sequential remote brightenings, which were visible at the Hα red wing with a line-of-sight speed of up to 70 km s−1. The extrapolated three-dimensional magnetic field configuration shows that the sequential remote brightenings correspond to the footpoints of closed ambient field lines whose conjugate footpoints are rooted in the main flare site. We suggest that the sequential remote brightenings are most likely to be caused by the heating of the interchange reconnection between the erupting flux rope and the closed ambient field, during which the rope-hosting filament materials are transferred to the periphery of the flaring active region along the closed ambient field rather than to the interplanetary space, such as in the scenario of slow solar wind formation.

A brief review of the development and optimization of the three-dimensional magnetic configuration system in the J-TEXT tokamak

The three-dimensional (3D) magnetic configuration system in the J-TEXT tokamak has featured in many experimental studies. The system mainly consists of three subsystems: the static resonant magnetic perturbation (SRMP) system, the dynamic resonant magnetic perturbation (DRMP) system and the helical coil system. The SRMP coil system consist of two kinds of coils, i.e. three six-loop coils and two five-loop coils. It can suppress tearing modes with a moderate strength, and may also cause mode locking with larger amplitude. The DRMP coil system consists of 12 single-turn saddle coils (DRMP1) and 12 double-turn saddle coils (DRMP2). Its magnetic field can be rotated at a few kHz, leading to either acceleration or deceleration of the tearing mode velocity and the plasma rotation. The helical coil system consists of two closed coils, and is currently under construction to provide external rotational transform in J-TEXT. The 3D magnetic configuration system can suppress tearing modes, preventing and avoiding the occurrence of major disruption.

X-ray imaging of the magnetic configuration of a three-dimensional artificial spin ice building block

The extension of artificial spin systems to the third dimension offers advances in functionalities and opportunities for technological applications. One of the main challenges facing their realization is the fabrication of three-dimensional geometries with nanoscale resolution. In this work, we combine two-photon lithography with deformation-free pyrolysis and a GdCo coating to create a three-dimensional (3D) tripod structure that represents a building block of an 3D artificial spin ice, surrounded by a two-dimensional magnetic film. We map the three-dimensional magnetic configuration of the structure and its surroundings using soft x-ray magnetic laminography. In this way, we determine the magnetic configuration of the tripod nanostructure to be in the low-energy two-in-one-out spin ice state, observed at the 2D vertex of a kagome ice and predicted for three-dimensional vertices of magnetic buckyball structures. In contrast to isolated vertices, the degeneracy of this state can be lifted by the surrounding film, which also offers a route toward the controlled injection of emergent charges. This demonstration of the building block of a 3D spin system represents the first step toward the realization and understanding of more complex 3D artificial spin systems.

Distinctive Features of the Structure of Current Sheets Formed in Plasma in Three-Dimensional Magnetic Configurations with an X line (a Review)

Distinctive Features of the Structure of Current Sheets Formed in Plasma in Three-Dimensional Magnetic Configurations with an X line (a Review)

Distinctive features of the structure of current sheets formed in plasma in three-dimensional magnetic configurations with an X line (a review)

A review is presented on experimental results related to investigation of distinctive features of the structure and evolution of plasma current sheets formed in three
 dimensional (3D) magnetic configurations with an X line, in the presence of a longitudinal magnetic field component (guide field) directed along the X line. It is shown that formation of a plasma current sheet results in enhancement of the guide field within the sheet. The excessive guide field is maintained by plasma currents that flow in the transverse plane relative to the main current in the sheet. As a result, the structure of the currents becomes three-dimensional. 
 Increasing the initial value of the guide field brings about a decrease of compression into the sheet of both the electric current and plasma. This effect is caused by changing the pres-
 sure balance in the sheet when an excessive guide field appears in it. Deformation of plasma current sheets in 3D magnetic configurations, namely, an appearance of asymmetric 
 and tilted sheets, results from excitation of the Hall currents and their interaction with the guide field. It is shown that the formation of current sheets in 3D magnetic configurations 
 with an X line is possible in a relatively wide, but limited range of initial conditions

Maps of Magnetic Field Strength in the OMC-1 Using HAWC+ FIR Polarimetric Data

Abstract Far-infrared dust polarimetry enables the study of interstellar magnetic fields via tracing of the polarized emission from dust grains that are partially aligned with the direction of the field. The advent of high-quality polarimetric data has permitted the use of statistical methods to extract both the direction and magnitude of the magnetic field. In this work, the Davis–Chandrasekhar–Fermi technique is used to make maps of the plane-of-sky (POS) component of the magnetic field in the Orion Molecular Cloud (OMC-1) by combining polarization maps at 53, 89, 154 and 214 μm from HAWC+/SOFIA with maps of density and velocity dispersion. In addition, maps of the local dispersion of polarization angles are used in conjunction with Zeeman measurements to estimate a map of the strength of the line-of-sight (LOS) component of the field. Combining these maps, information about the three-dimensional magnetic field configuration (integrated along the LOS) is inferred over the OMC-1 region. POS magnetic field strengths of up to 2 mG are observed near the BN/KL object, while the OMC-1 bar shows strengths of up to a few hundred μG. These estimates of the magnetic field components are used to produce maps of the mass-to-magnetic-flux ratio (M/Φ)—a metric for probing the conditions for star formation in molecular clouds—and determine regions of sub- and supercriticality in OMC-1. Such maps can provide invaluable input and comparison to MHD simulations of star formation processes in filamentary structures of molecular clouds.

Fast-ion D alpha diagnostic with 3D-supporting FIDASIM in the Large Helical Device

For understanding the physics of energetic particles, the deuterium experimental campaigns started in Large Helical Device (LHD) from March 2017. To investigate the behavior of energetic particles, a Fast-ion D Alpha (FIDA) diagnostic was installed on the LHD. In the FIDA diagnostic, the Doppler-shifted D alpha light from fast-neutrals are utilized as signals of energetic particles, where these fast-neutrals are produced by the charge exchange process between fast-ions in the plasma and actively injected neutrals by neutral beam (NB). The advantages of the FIDA diagnostic are the velocity and the spatially resolved measurement of fast-ions at the crossing point between its line of sight (LOS) and the incident line of NB. The most recent FIDASIM is enhanced to simulate signals produced in three-dimensional magnetic configurations. The new version of FIDASIM uses the fast-ion distribution function produced by GNET as input to simulate FIDA signals at LHD. In order to validate the new version of the code, measurements of radial profiles of fast-ions using the FIDA diagnostic are performed in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)-quiescent plasmas. The measured spectra are in good agreement with the theoretical prediction by 3D-supporting FIDASIM at the center of the plasma (R= 3.5 m∼3.7 m, reff/a99= −0.28∼0.05) on the LHD when the line averaged electron density is ne_avg < 1.23 × 1019 m−3. On the other hand, the measured spectra are in disagreement with the theoretical prediction by 3D-supporting FIDASIM at even the center of the plasma when the line averaged electron density is ne_avg ≥ 1.23 × 1019 m−3.

Progress in modelling fast-ion D-alpha spectra and neutral particle analyzer fluxes using FIDASIM

FIDASIM is a code that models signals produced by charge-exchange reactions between neutrals and ions (both fast and thermal) in magnetically confined plasmas. With the ion distribution function as input, the code predicts the efflux to a neutral particle analyzer diagnostic and the photon radiance of Balmer-alpha light to a fast-ion D diagnostic, in addition to many other related quantities. A new, parallelized version of the Monte Carlo code FIDASIM has been developed in Fortran90 that is substantially faster than the original interactive data language version. Modified algorithms include more accurate treatments of the time dependent collisional-radiative equations that describe neutral energy levels, of the cloud of ‘halo’ neutrals that surround the injected neutral beam, and of finite Larmor radius effects. Enhanced physics capabilities include modelling ‘passive’ signals from cold edge neutrals, the ability to treat general three-dimensional magnetic confinement configurations, and calculations of diagnostic-specific weight functions that enable tomographic reconstructions of the fast-ion distribution function. Neutral beam attenuation, beam emission, and fast-ion birth profiles are also modelled. The new algorithms have been successfully validated against experimental data and new features have been tested through benchmarks between two independently developed versions of the code.

Magnetic Skyrmion Tubes as Nonplanar Magnonic Waveguides

Various latest experiments have proven the theoretical prediction that domain walls in planar magnetic structures can channel spin waves as outstanding magnonic waveguides, establishing a superb platform for building magnonic devices. Recently, three-dimensional nanomagnetism has been boosted up and become a significant branch of magnetism, because three-dimensional magnetic structures expose a lot of emerging physics hidden behind planar ones and will inevitably provide broader room for device engineering. Skyrmions and antiSkyrmions, as natural three-dimensional magnetic configurations, are not considered yet in the context of spin-wave channeling and steering. Here, we show that skyrmion tubes can act as nonplanar magnonic waveguides if excited suitably. An isolated skyrmion tube in a magnetic nanoprism induces spatially separate internal and edge channels of spin waves; the internal channel has a narrower energy gap, compared to the edge channel, and accordingly can transmit signals at lower frequencies. Additionally, we verify that those spin-wave beams along magnetic nanoprism are restricted to the regions of potential wells. Transmission of spin-wave signals in such waveguides results from the coherent propagation of locally driven eigenmodes of skyrmions, i.e., the breathing and rotational modes. Finally, we find that spin waves along the internal channels are less susceptible to magnetic field than those along the edge channels. Our work will open a new arena for spin-wave manipulation and help bridge skyrmionics and magnonics.

Profile approach for recognition of three-dimensional magnetic structures

We propose an approach for low-dimensional visualisation and classification of complex topological magnetic structures formed in magnetic materials. Within the approach one converts a three-dimensional magnetic configuration to a vector containing the only components of the spins that are parallel to the z axis. The next crucial step is to sort the vector elements in ascending or descending order. Having visualized profiles of the sorted spin vectors one can distinguish configurations belonging to different phases even with the same total magnetization. For instance, spin spiral and paramagnetic states with zero total magnetic moment can be easily identified. Being combined with a simplest neural network our profile approach provides a very accurate phase classification for three-dimensional magnets characterized by complex multispiral states even in the critical areas close to phases transitions. By the example of the skyrmionic configurations we show that profile approach can be used to separate the states belonging to the same phase.

Extended capability of the integrated transport analysis suite, TASK3D-a, for LHD experiment

The integrated transport analysis suite, TASK3D-a (Analysis), has been developed to be capable for routine whole-discharge analyses of plasmas confined in three-dimensional (3D) magnetic configurations such as the LHD. The routine dynamic energy balance analysis for NBI-heated plasmas was made possible in the first version released in September 2012. The suite has been further extended through implementing additional modules for neoclassical transport and ECH deposition for 3D configurations. A module has also been added for creating systematic data for the International Stellarator–Heliotron Confinement and Profile Database. Improvement of neutral beam injection modules for multiple-ion species plasmas and loose coupling with a large-simulation code are also highlights of recent developments.

Extension of the SIESTA MHD equilibrium code to free-plasma-boundary problems

SIESTA [Hirshman et al., Phys. Plasmas 18, 062504 (2011)] is a recently developed MHD equilibrium code designed to perform fast and accurate calculations of ideal MHD equilibria for three-dimensional magnetic configurations. Since SIESTA does not assume closed magnetic surfaces, the solution can exhibit magnetic islands and stochastic regions. In its original implementation SIESTA addressed only fixed-boundary problems. That is, the shape of the plasma edge, assumed to be a magnetic surface, was kept fixed as the solution iteratively converges to equilibrium. This condition somewhat restricts the possible applications of SIESTA. In this paper, we discuss an extension that will enable SIESTA to address free-plasma-boundary problems, opening up the possibility of investigating problems in which the plasma boundary is perturbed either externally or internally. As an illustration, SIESTA is applied to a configuration of the W7-X stellarator.

Three-dimensional magnetization structures revealed with X-ray vector nanotomography.

In soft ferromagnetic materials, the smoothly varying magnetization leads to the formation of fundamental patterns such as domains, vortices and domain walls. These have been studied extensively in thin films of thicknesses up to around 200 nanometres, in which the magnetization is accessible with current transmission imaging methods that make use of electrons or soft X-rays. In thicker samples, however, in which the magnetization structure varies throughout the thickness and is intrinsically three dimensional, determining the complex magnetic structure directly still represents a challenge. We have developed hard-X-ray vector nanotomography with which to determine the three-dimensional magnetic configuration at the nanoscale within micrometre-sized samples. We imaged the structure of the magnetization within a soft magnetic pillar of diameter 5 micrometres with a spatial resolution of 100 nanometres and, within the bulk, observed a complex magnetic configuration that consists of vortices and antivortices that form cross-tie walls and vortex walls along intersecting planes. At the intersections of these structures, magnetic singularities-Bloch points-occur. These were predicted more than fifty years ago but have so far not been directly observed. Here we image the three-dimensional magnetic structure in the vicinity of the Bloch points, which until now has been accessible only through micromagnetic simulations, and identify two possible magnetization configurations: a circulating magnetization structure and a twisted state that appears to correspond to an 'anti-Bloch point'. Our imaging method enables the nanoscale study of topological magnetic structures in systems with sizes of the order of tens of micrometres. Knowledge of internal nanomagnetic textures is critical for understanding macroscopic magnetic properties and for designing bulk magnets for technological applications.

Isotope Effects on Trapped-Electron-Mode Driven Turbulence and Zonal Flows in Helical and Tokamak Plasmas.

Impacts of isotope ion mass on trapped-electron-mode (TEM)-driven turbulence and zonal flows in magnetically confined fusion plasmas are investigated. Gyrokinetic simulations of TEM-driven turbulence in three-dimensional magnetic configuration of helical plasmas with hydrogen isotope ions and real-mass kinetic electrons are realized for the first time, and the linear and the nonlinear nature of the isotope and collisional effects on the turbulent transport and zonal-flow generation are clarified. It is newly found that combined effects of the collisional TEM stabilization by the isotope ions and the associated increase in the impacts of the steady zonal flows at the near-marginal linear stability lead to the significant transport reduction with the opposite ion mass dependence in comparison to the conventional gyro-Bohm scaling. The universal nature of the isotope effects on the TEM-driven turbulence and zonal flows is verified for a wide variety of toroidal plasmas, e.g., axisymmetric tokamak and non-axisymmetric helical or stellarator systems.

Conceptual design of the three-dimensional magnetic field configuration relevant to the magnetopause reconnection in the SPERF

A new ground-based experimental device, the Space Plasma Environment Research Facility (SPERF), is being designed at Harbin Institute of Technology in China, with Asymmetric REconnection eXperiment-3 Dimensional (AREX-3D) as one of the experimental components to study the asymmetric reconnection dynamics relevant to the interaction between the interplanetary and magnetospheric plasmas. The asymmetry in the designed magnetic reconnection process not only refers to the distinct plasma parameters designed for the two upstream regions across the current sheet, but also refers to the inhomogeneity in the direction along the current sheet resulting from the designed 3D magnetic field geometry. These two asymmetries are fundamental features of the reconnection process at the Earth’s magnetopause. In experiment, the reconnection process is driven by a set of flux cores through coil-current-ramp-up from the ‘magnetosheath-side’ to interact with a dipole magnetic field generated by the Dipole Research EXperiment (DREX) coil on the ‘magnetosphere-side’. The AREX-3D will be able to investigate a range of important reconnection issues in 3D magnetic field geometry that is relevant to the Earth’s magnetopause. A wide range of plasma parameters can be achieved through inductive plasma generation with flux cores on the ‘magnetosheath-side’ and electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) with microwave sources on the ‘magnetosphere-side’, e.g. high (low) plasma density at experimental magnetosheath (dipole) side. Different reconnection regimes and geometries can be produced by adjusting plasma parameters and coil setups as well as coil current waveforms. The three-dimensional magnetic field configurations in the SPERF relevant to the dayside magnetopause reconnection are discussed in detail.

A condition for small bootstrap current in three-dimensional toroidal configurations

It is shown that, if the maximum of the magnetic field strength on a magnetic surface in a threedimensional magnetic confinement configuration with stellarator symmetry constitutes a line that is orthogonal to the field lines and crosses the symmetry line, then the bootstrap current density is smaller compared to that in quasi-axisymmetric (qa) [J. Nuhrenberg et al., in Proc. of Joint Varenna−Lausanne Int. Workshop on Theory of Fusion Plasmas, Varenna, 1994, p. 3] and quasi-helically (qh) symmetric [J. Nuhrenberg and R. Zille, Phys. Lett. A 129, 113 (1988)] configurations.

Simulation study of NBI heating in the time-evolving and multi-ion-species plasmas of LHD

Numerical simulations of neutral beam injection (NBI) heating in the time-evolving and multi-ion-species plasma in the large helical device (LHD) are performed. Two typical impurity species in the high- experiment plasma, helium and carbon, are considered. The birth simulation using the HFREYA code has shown that the fast ion birth increases with the carbon impurity fraction in the tangential and perpendicular NBI heating cases. The GNET-TD code is used to simulate the slowing down of the fast ions, taking into account the plasma time evolution, impurity collisions and guiding-centre motion in the three-dimensional magnetic configuration. It is found that the fast ion confinement is deteriorated by the pitch-angle scattering with carbon ions, nevertheless the total heat deposition of the tangential NBI increases with the carbon fraction in the simulation of steady-state plasma. The time-dependent simulation with the carbon pellet injection has shown the deformation of the fast ion distribution function and an increase in the heat depositions after the carbon pellet injection. It has also been shown that the steady-state simulations underestimate the heat deposition in the core region right after the pellet injection.

Radial magnetic field in magnetic confinement device**Project supported by the Special Domestic Program of ITER, China (Grant No. 2009GB105003).

The intrinsic radial magnetic field (Br) in a tokamak is explored by the solution of the Grad–Shafranov equation in axisymmetric configurations through an expansion of the four terms of the magnetic surfaces. It can be inferred from the simulation results that at the core of the device, the tokamak should possess a three-dimensional magnetic field configuration, which could be reduced to a two-dimensional one when the radial position is greater than 0.6a. The radial magnetic field and the amzimuthal magnetic field have the same order of magnitude at the core of the device. These results can offer a reference for the analysis of the plasma instability, the property of the core plasma, and the magnetic field measurement.

Mitigation of large amplitude edge-localized modes by resonant magnetic perturbations on LHD

In the Large Helical Device (LHD), H-mode plasmas are produced, having large amplitude edge-localized modes (ELMs) which are induced by resistive interchange modes (RICs) at the ι/2π = 1 rational surface near the foot of the edge transport barrier (ETB). These large ELMs expel a large fraction of plasma stored energy, up to 20% of the stored energy (Wp). The ETB and the ι/2π = 1 surface are thought to be in the stochastic field region (SFR) generated intrinsically in three-dimensional magnetic configuration on LHD, because plasma shielding effects for such stochastic fields are not significant due to low electrical conductivity σ and moderate angular frequency of plasma rotation ω in the ETB and the field penetration depth is estimated to be comparable to the ETB width. Even if the ETB is in such intrinsic SFR where electron mean free path is much shorter than the connection length, large amplitude ELMs are excited. Such ELMs were mitigated by externally applied m = 1/n = 1 resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs), for the first time, in a stellarator/helical plasma, where m and n are the poloidal and toroidal mode numbers, respectively. The RMPs reduce the amplitude, enhancing the repetition frequency significantly. The energy loss fraction ΔWp/Wp is reduced less than ∼5% by the mitigation. This mitigation is realized without terminating the H-mode and large penalty to global energy confinement. The RMPs preferentially decrease electron density in ETB indicating enhanced particle transport, while electron and ion temperature profiles are nearly unchanged. Plasma shielding effects for the applied RMPs is also not significant because of low σ and moderate ω in ETB. Noticeable decrease in the gradients of electron density and pressure in the ETB and also at the ι/2π = 1 surface is induced by the penetration of the applied RMPs. Enhanced ELM frequency indicates that MHD stability of ETB for RICs is degraded by RMPs. Potential mechanisms of ELM mitigation on LHD are discussed.