Evaluation of the Abel inversion integral in O-mode plasma reflectometry using Chebyshev-Gauss quadrature

The Abel transform is often used to reconstruct plasma density profiles from O-Mode polarized reflectometry diagnostics. However, standard numerical trapezoidal evaluation of the Abel inversion integral can be computationally expensive for a large number of evaluation points, and an endpoint singularity exists on the upper-bound of the integral, which can result in an increased error. In this work, Chebyshev-Gauss quadrature is introduced as a new method to evaluate the Abel inversion integral for the problem of O-Mode plasma reflectometry. The method does not require numerical evaluation of an integral singularity and is shown to have similar accuracy compared to existing methods while being computationally efficient.

Energetic ion loss detector on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

A scintillator-based energetic ion loss detector has been successfully commissioned on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. This probe is located just below the outer midplane, where it captures ions of energies up to 2 MeV resulting from ion cyclotron resonance heating. After passing through a collimating aperture, ions impact different regions of the scintillator according to their gyroradius (energy) and pitch angle. The probe geometry and installation location are determined based on modeling of expected lost ions. The resulting probe is compact and resembles a standard plasma facing tile. Four separate fiber optic cables view different regions of the scintillator to provide phase space resolution. Evolving loss levels are measured during ion cyclotron resonance heating, including variation dependent upon individual antennae.

Observation of reversed shear Alfvén eigenmodes between sawtooth crashes in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

Groups of frequency chirping modes observed between sawtooth crashes in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak are interpreted as reversed shear Alfvén eigenmodes near the q=1 surface. These modes indicate that a reversed shear q profile is generated during the relaxation phase of the sawtooth cycle. Two important parameters, q_{min} and its radial position, are deduced from comparisons of measured density fluctuations with calculations from the ideal MHD code NOVA. These studies provide valuable constraints for further modeling of the sawtooth cycle.

Observation of ion-cyclotron-frequency mode-conversion flow drive in tokamak plasmas

Strong toroidal flow (Vphi) and poloidal flow (Vtheta) have been observed in D-3He plasmas with ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) mode-conversion (MC) heating on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. The toroidal flow scales with the rf power Prf (up to 30 km/s per MW), and is significantly larger than that in ICRF minority heated plasmas at the same rf power or stored energy. The central Vphi responds to Prf faster than the outer regions, and the Vphi(r) profile is broadly peaked for r/a < or =0.5. Localized (0.3 < or = r/a < or =0.5) Vtheta appears when Prf > or =1.5 MW and increases with power (up to 0.7 km/s per MW). The experimental evidence together with numerical wave modeling suggests a local flow drive source due to the interaction between the MC ion cyclotron wave and 3He ions.

Scrape-off layer reflectometer for Alcator C-Mod

A two-frequency x-mode reflectometer operating from 100 to 146 GHz is deployed on Alcator C-Mod to measure the density profile and fluctuations in the scrape-off layer (SOL) immediately in front of the new J-port ICRF antenna and the new C-port lower hybrid launcher. The reflectometer covers densities from 10(16) to 10(20) m(-3) at 5-5.4 T. To provide the greatest flexibility and capability to deal with density fluctuations approaching 100% peak-to-peak in the SOL, both full-phase and differential-phase measurement capabilities with sweep speeds of approximately 10 micros to >1 ms are implemented. The differential-phase measurement uses a difference frequency of 500 MHz, corresponding to cutoff layer separations ranging from about 0.1 to 1 mm. The reflectometer has six sets of launchers: three on the ICRF antenna and three on the lower hybrid launcher. Both the ICRF antenna and the lower hybrid launcher incorporate reflectometer antennas at their top, bottom, and midplane locations.

Experimental observations of mode-converted ion cyclotron waves in a tokamak plasma by phase contrast imaging

The process of mode conversion, whereby an externally launched electromagnetic wave converts into a shorter wavelength mode(s) in a thermal plasma near a resonance in the index of refraction, is particularly important in a multi-ion species plasma near the ion cyclotron frequency. Using phase contrast imaging techniques (PCI), mode-converted electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves have been detected for the first time in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak near the H-3He ion-ion hybrid resonance region during high power rf heating experiments. The results agree with theoretical predictions.