Nonresonant Diffusion in Alpha Channeling

The gradient of fusion-born alpha particles that arises in a fusion reactor can be exploited to amplify waves, which cool the alpha particles while diffusively extracting them from the reactor. The corresponding extraction of the resonant alpha particle charge has been suggested as a mechanism to dr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2021-07, Vol.127 (2), p.025003-025003, Article 025003
Main Authors: Ochs, Ian E., Fisch, Nathaniel J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
Alpha particles
Alpha rays
Channeling
Current drive
Electrostatic waves & oscillations
Plasma microinstabilities
Plasma waves
Ponderomotive effects
Rotation
Wave-wave, wave-particle interactions
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Summary:The gradient of fusion-born alpha particles that arises in a fusion reactor can be exploited to amplify waves, which cool the alpha particles while diffusively extracting them from the reactor. The corresponding extraction of the resonant alpha particle charge has been suggested as a mechanism to drive rotation. By deriving a coupled linear-quasilinear theory of alpha channeling, we show that, for a time-growing wave with a purely poloidal wave vector, a current in the nonresonant ions cancels the resonant alpha particle current, preventing the rotation drive but fueling the fusion reaction.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.025003