MONITORING ENERGETIC A-PARTICLES IN A FUSION DEVICE

ENERGETIC ALPHA-PARTICLES BORN IN THE DEPTHS OF A CONFINED, REACTING D-T PLASMA WILL STRONGLY INFLUENCE THE BEHAVIOR OF THE PLASMA. IT IS CRUCIAL TO MONITOR THE SPATIAL AND ENERGY DISTRIBUTION OF ALPHA-PARTICLES AS THEY UNFOLD IN TIME. WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE APPLYING ICRF ABSORPTION AND EMISSION AS A DIAGNOSTIC FOR THE MONITORING OF THE ENERGETIC ALPHA-PARTICLES IN A FUSION DEVICE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED STUDY IS TO ANALYZE THE ABSORPTION OF EXTERNALLY LAUNCHED ICRF WAVES BY THE ENERGETIC ALPHA-PARTICLES AND THE ICRF EMISSION BY THESE PARTICLES. THE TECHNIQUES WE PROPOSE CAN DISTINGUISH BETWEEN ALPHA-PARTICLES AND DEUTERIUM IONS, WHICH HAVE THE SAME E/M RATIO, AND EMIT AND ABSORB AT THE SAME FREQUENCIES. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IN PHASE I IS TO ASSESS THE THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL FEASIBILITY OF USING ICRF DIAGNOSTIC METHODS BY (1) ESTIMATING THE PARAMETERS OF THE ICRF WAVES TO BE MEASURED OR USED FOR PROBING THE PLASMA, AND (2) DETERMINING THE SPECIFICATIONS OF AN ICRF ANTENNA SYSTEM TO DETECT AND LAUNCH THESE WAVES. IN PHASE II, THE THEORY WILL BE REFINED AND THE RF INSTRUMENTATION WILL BE DEVELOPED.