Modeling the electron cyclotron emission radiation signature from suprathermal electrons in a tokamak.

An Electron Cyclotron Emission (ECE) modeling code has been developed to model ECE radiation with an arbitrary electron momentum distribution, a small oblique angle, both ordinary (O-mode) and extraordinary polarizations (X-mode), and multiple cyclotron frequency harmonics. The emission and absorption coefficients are calculated using the Poynting theorem from the cold plasma dispersion and the electron-microwave interaction from the full anti-Hermitian tensor. The modeling shows several ECE radiation signatures that can be used to diagnose the population of suprathermal electrons in a tokamak.

Observation of a new type of self-generated current in magnetized plasmas.

A tokamak, a torus-shaped nuclear fusion device, needs an electric current in the plasma to produce magnetic field in the poloidal direction for confining fusion plasmas. Plasma current is conventionally generated by electromagnetic induction. However, for a steady-state fusion reactor, minimizing the inductive current is essential to extend the tokamak operating duration.

Evidence of a turbulent ExB mixing avalanche mechanism of gas breakdown in strongly magnetized systems.

Although gas breakdown phenomena have been intensively studied over 100 years, the breakdown mechanism in a strongly magnetized system, such as tokamak, has been still obscured due to complex electromagnetic topologies. There has been a widespread misconception that the conventional breakdown model of the unmagnetized system can be directly applied to the strongly magnetized system. However, we found clear evidence that existing theories cannot explain the experimental results.