[en] Evidence of circular dichroism has been observed in the spectral properties of a gas of left-right symmetric molecules. This dichroism comes about as the result of collisions of the symmetric molecules with left-right asymmetric molecules introduced as a buffer gas. In this sense, the dichroism can be said to have been transferred from the chiral buffer molecules to the symmetric, non-chiral molecules of the background vapor. This transferred dichroism appears as broadening in the gain line of the symmetric molecule which is asymmetric with respect to the right or left handedness of a circularly polarized probe. The broadening of the 119 μm line of the methanol molecule was observed using infrared-far infrared double resonance spectroscopy

[en] Tungsten particles have been introduced into the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) in Princeton with the purpose to investigate the effects of tungsten injection on subsequent plasma discharges. An experimental setup for the study of tungsten particle transport is described where the particles are introduced into the tokamak using a modified particle dropper, otherwise used for lithium-powder injection. An initial test employing a grazing-incidence extreme ultraviolet spectrometer demonstrates that the tungsten-transport setup could serve to infer particle transport from the edge to the hot central plasmas of NSTX.

[en] Reductions in H content and particle recycling are important for the improvement of ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) minority heating efficiency and the enhancement of plasma performance of the EAST superconducting tokamak. During recent years several techniques of surface conditioning such as baking, glow discharge cleaning/ICRF discharge cleaning, surface coatings, such as boronization, siliconization and lithium coating, have all been attempted in order to reduce the H/(H+D) ratio and particle recycling in EAST. Even though boronization and siliconization were both reasonably effective methods to improve plasma performance, lithium coatings were observed to reduce the H content and particle recycling to levels low enough to allow the attainment of enhanced plasma parameters and operating modes on EAST. For example, by accomplishing lithium coating using either vacuum evaporation or the real-time injection of fine lithium powder, the H/(H+D) ratio could be routinely decreased to about 5%, which significantly improved ICRF minority heating efficiency during the autumn campaign of 2010. Due to the reduced H/(H+D) ratio and lower particle recycling, and a reduced H-mode power threshold, improved plasma confinement and the first EAST H-mode plasma were obtained. Furthermore, with increasing accumulation of deposited lithium, several new milestones of EAST performance, such as a 6.4 s-long H-mode, a 100 s-long plasma duration and a 1 MA plasma current, were achieved in the 2010 autumn campaign.

[en] A test of lithium wettability was performed in high vacuum (< 3 × 10⁻⁴ Pa). High magnification images of Li droplets on stainless steel substrates were produced and processed using the MATLAB^® program to obtain clear image edge points. In contrast to the more standard “θ/2” or polynomial fitting methods, ellipse fitting of the complete Li droplet shape resulted in reliable contact angle measurements over a wide range of contact angles. Using the ellipse fitting method, it was observed that the contact angle of a liquid Li droplet on a stainless steel substrate gradually decreased with increasing substrate temperature. The critical wetting temperature of liquid Li on stainless steel was observed to be about 290 °C

[en] At DIII-D, lithium granules were radially injected into the plasma at the outer midplane to trigger and pace edge localized modes (ELMs). Granules ranging in size from 300 to 1000 microns were horizontally launched into H-mode discharges with velocities near 100 m/s, and granule to granule injection frequencies less than 500 Hz. While the smaller granules were only successful in triggering ELMs approximately 20% of the time, the larger granules regularly demonstrated ELM triggering efficiencies of greater than 80%. A fast visible camera looking along the axis of injection observed the ablation of the lithium granules. We used the duration of ablation as a benchmark for a neutral gas shielding calculation, and approximated the ablation rate and mass deposition location for the various size granules, using measured edge plasma profiles as inputs. In conclusion, this calculation suggests that the low triggering efficiency of the smaller granules is due to the inability of these granules to traverse the steep edge pressure gradient region and reach the top of the pedestal prior to full ablation

[en] The injection of boron (B) and boron nitride (BN) powders into ASDEX Upgrade H-mode discharges have demonstrated effective control of tungsten influx in low density/collisionality operational regimes, similar to conventional boronization methods. Sub-mm powder particles are gravitationally accelerated into the upper edge of a lower single null H-mode plasma with a boundary shape roughly conforming to the shape of the poloidal midplane limiters. Visible spectroscopy measurements at one of the outer limiter showed increases in both B and N signal levels, as well as elevated B levels in the divertor, and an increase in total radiated power by greater than a factor of two during BN injection. Globally the BN injection improved energy confinement by 10%–20%, associated with improvements in pedestal performance similar to gaseous N injection. Following conditioning discharges with B powder injection, three low gas-fueling discharges with magnetic perturbations for ELM suppression were successfully conducted. These first results suggest that the application of B containing powders can be used to both improve plasma performance in real-time, and to improve overall wall conditions for subsequent discharges. (paper)

[en] The ability of an injected lithium granule to promptly trigger an edge localized mode (ELM) has been established in multiple experiments. By horizontally injecting granules ranging in diameter from 200 microns to 1mm in diameter into the low field side of EAST H-mode discharges we have determined that granules with diameter > 600 microns are successful in triggering ELMs more than 95% of the time. Granules were radially injected from the outer midplane with velocities ~ 80 m/s into EAST upper-single null discharges with an ITER like tungsten monoblock divertor. ELM triggering was a prompt response to granule injection, and for granules of a sufficient size there was no evidence of a "trigger lag" phenomenon as observed in full metal machines. We also demonstrated that the triggering efficiency decreased with granule size during dynamic size scans. These granules were individually tracked throughout their injection cycle in order to determine their efficacy at triggering an ELM. Furthermore, by simulating the granule injection with an experimentally benchmarked neutral gas shielding (NGS) model, the ablatant mass deposition required to promptly trigger an ELM is calculated and the fractional mass deposition is determined. Simulated 900 micron granules capable of triggering an ELM show a peaked mass deposition of 3.9 x 10¹⁷ atoms per mm of penetration at a depth of approximately 5 cm past the separatrix.

[en] The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) produces plasmas, with toroidal aspect ratio as low as 1.25 and plasma currents up to 1.5 MA, which can be heated by up to 6 MW High-Harmonic Fast Waves and up to 7 MW of deuterium Neutral Beam Injection. With these capabilities, NSTX has already made considerable progress in advancing the scientific understanding of high performance plasmas needed for low-aspect-ratio reactor concepts and for ITER. In transport and turbulence research on NSTX, the role of magnetic shear is being elucidated in discharges in which electron energy transport barriers are observed. Scaling studies indicate a weaker dependence on plasma current than at conventional aspect ratio and a significant dependence on toroidal field (B_T).

[en] A poloidally viewing far infrared polarimeter diagnostic is being developed for the Alcator C-Mod tokamak, and will be used to determine the q-profile and to study density and magnetic field fluctuations. A three-chord version of what will eventually be up to a ten-chord system has been designed and fabricated and will be installed on C-Mod before the end of the current run period. Bench tests of a single chord mock-up of this system show acceptable noise levels for the planned measurements. We will discuss the analysis and experimental techniques used to diagnose and reduce noise sources.

[en] Reduction or elimination of edge localized modes (ELMs) while maintaining high confinement is essential for future fusion devices, e.g., the ITER. An ELM-free regime was recently obtained in the National Spherical Torus Experiment, following lithium (Li) evaporation onto the plasma-facing components. Edge stability calculations indicate that the pre-Li discharges were unstable to low-n peeling or ballooning modes, while broader pressure profiles stabilized the post-Li discharges. Normalized energy confinement increased by 50% post Li, with no sign of ELMs up to the global stability limit.