[en] In plasmas equipped with neutral beam injection, excitation of atomic spectral lines via charge-exchange with neutral atoms is the basis of one of the standard plasma diagnostic techniques for ion density, temperature, and velocity. In order to properly interpret the spectroscopic results, one must consider the effects of the energy dependence of the charge-exchange cross-section as well as the motion of the ion after charge-exchange during the period when it is still in the excited state. This motion is affected by the electric and magnetic fields in the plasma. The present paper gives results for the velocity distribution function of the excited state ions and considers in detail the cross-section and ion motion effects on the post charge-exchange velocity. The expression for this velocity in terms of the charge-exchange cross-section and the pre charge-exchange velocity allows that latter velocity to be determined. The present paper is the first to consider the effect of the electric as well as the magnetic field and demonstrates that electric field and diamagnetic terms appear in the expression for the inferred velocity. The present formulation also leads to a novel technique for assessing the effect of the energy dependence of the charge-exchange cross-section on the inferred ion temperature.

[en] Helium line-ratios for electron temperature (T_e) and density (n_e) plasma diagnostic in the Scrape-Off-Layer (SOL) and edge regions of tokamaks are widely used. Due to their intensities and proximity of wavelengths, the singlet, 667.8 and 728.1 nm, and triplet, 706.5 nm, visible lines have been typically preferred. Time-dependency of the triplet line (706.5 nm) has been previously analyzed in detail by including transient effects on line-ratios during gas-puff diagnostic applications. In this work, several line-ratio combinations within each of the two spin systems are analyzed with the purpose of eliminating transient effects to extend the application of this powerful diagnostic to high temporal resolution characterization of plasmas. The analysis is done using synthetic emission modeling and diagnostic for low electron density NSTX SOL plasma conditions by several visible lines. Quasi-static equilibrium and time-dependent models are employed to evaluate transient effects of the atomic population levels that may affect the derived electron temperatures and densities as the helium gas-puff penetrates the plasma. The analysis of a wider range of spectral lines will help to extend this powerful diagnostic to experiments where the wavelength range of the measured spectra may be constrained either by limitations of the spectrometer or by other conflicting lines from different ions.

[en] Four collisional radiative models (CRMs) for reconstruction of the edge electron density profile from the measured Li I (2s-2p) emission profile of an accelerated lithium beam are compared using experimental data from DIII-D. It is shown for both L- and H-mode plasmas that edge density profiles reconstructed with the CRMs DDD2, ABSOLUT, [Sasaki et al. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 64, 1699 (1993)] and a new model developed at DIII-D agree in a density scan from n_e^ped= (2.0–6.5) × 10¹⁹ m⁻³ within 20%, 20%, <5%, and 40%, respectively, of the pedestal density measured with Thomson scattering. Profile shape and absolute density vary in a scan of the effective ion charge Z_eff= 1–6 up to a factor of two but agree with Thomson data for Z_eff= 1–2 within the error bars.

[en] Neutral beams based on positive ion source technology are a key component of contemporary fusion research. An accurate assessment of the injected beam species mix is important for determining the actual plasma heating and momentum input as well as proper interpretation of beam-based diagnostics. On DIII-D, the main ion charge-exchange spectroscopy system is used to extract well-resolved intensity ratios of the Doppler-shifted D_α emission from the full, half, and third energy beam components for a variety of beam operational parameters. In conjunction with accurate collisional-radiative modeling, these measurements indicate the assumed species mix and power fractions can vary significantly and should be regularly monitored and updated for the most accurate interpretation of plasma performance. In addition, if stable active control of the power fractions can be achieved through appropriate source tuning, the resulting control over the deposition profile can serve as an additional experimental knob for advanced tokamak studies, e.g., varying the off axis beam current drive without altering the beam trajectory.

[en] A review is given of the most commonly used databases for electron-impact ionization and recombination data. A brief description is given of the theoretical methods used to calculate ionization and recombination cross sections, and the role of metastable fractions in experimental measurements is discussed. Some of the remaining challenges are described for both ionization and recombination data and examples of the impact of new atomic data on fractional abundance calculations are given. The impact of new atomic data on generalized collisional-radiative coefficients is also discussed, and the importance of these density- and temperature-dependent coefficients on plasma modeling is shown.

[en] Spectroscopic studies of line emission intensities and ratios offer an attractive option in the development of non-invasive plasma diagnostics. Evaluating ratios of selected He I line emission profiles from the singlet and triplet neutral helium spin systems allows for simultaneous measurement of electron density (n_e) and temperature (T_e) profiles. Typically, this powerful diagnostic tool is limited by the relatively long relaxation times of the ³S metastable term of helium that populates the triplet spin system, and on which electron temperature sensitive lines are based. By developing a time dependent analytical solution, we model the time evolution of the two spin systems. We present a hybrid time dependent/independent line ratio solution that improves the range of application of this diagnostic technique in the scrape-off layer (SOL) and edge plasma regions when comparing it against the current equilibrium line ratio helium model used at TEXTOR.

[en] The neutral-beam induced D_α emission spectrum contains a wealth of information such as deuterium ion temperature, toroidal rotation, density, beam emission intensity, beam neutral density, and local magnetic field strength magnitude ‖B‖ from the Stark-split beam emission spectrum, and fast-ion D_α emission (FIDA) proportional to the beam-injected fast ion density. A comprehensive spectral fitting routine which accounts for all photoemission processes is employed for the spectral analysis. Interpretation of the measurements to determine physically relevant plasma parameters is assisted by the use of an optimized viewing geometry and forward modeling of the emission spectra using a Monte-Carlo 3D simulation code.

[en] Radial profiles of electron temperature and density are measured at high spatial (∼1 mm) and temporal (⩾10 μs) resolution using a thermal supersonic helium jet. A highly accurate detection system is applied to well-developed collisional-radiative model codes to produce the profiles. Agreement between this measurement and an edge Thomson scattering measurement is found to be within the error bars (≲20%). The diagnostic is being used to give profiles near the ion cyclotron resonant heating antenna on TEXTOR to better understand RF coupling to the core.