Role of Kinetic Instability in Runaway-Electron Avalanches and Elevated Critical Electric Fields
Abstract
Here, the effects of kinetic whistler wave instabilities on the runaway-electron (RE) avalanche is investigated. With parameters from experiments at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, we show that RE scattering from excited whistler waves can explain several poorly understood experimental results. We find an enhancement of the RE avalanche for low density and high electric field, but for high density and low electric field the scattering can suppress the avalanche and raise the threshold electric field, bringing the present model much closer to observations. The excitation of kinetic instabilities and the scattering of resonant electrons are calculated self-consistently using a quasilinear model and local approximation. We also explain the observed fast growth of electron cyclotron emission signals and excitation of very low-frequency whistler modes observed in the quiescent RE experiments at DIII-D tokamak. Simulations using ITER parameters show that by controlling the background thermal plasma density and temperature, the plasma waves can also be excited spontaneously in tokamak disruptions and the avalanche generation of runaway electrons may be suppressed.
- Authors:
-
- Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
- Zhejiang Univ., Zhejianb (China); Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
- Princeton Univ., Princeton, NJ (United States)
- Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Princeton Univ., Princeton, NJ (United States)
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1460736
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1457584
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-09CH11466; SC0016268
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Physical Review Letters
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 120; Journal Issue: 26; Journal ID: ISSN 0031-9007
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
Citation Formats
Liu, Chang, Hirvijoki, Eero, Fu, Guo -Yong, Brennan, Dylan P., Bhattacharjee, Amitava, and Paz-Soldan, Carlos. Role of Kinetic Instability in Runaway-Electron Avalanches and Elevated Critical Electric Fields. United States: N. p., 2018.
Web. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.265001.
Liu, Chang, Hirvijoki, Eero, Fu, Guo -Yong, Brennan, Dylan P., Bhattacharjee, Amitava, & Paz-Soldan, Carlos. Role of Kinetic Instability in Runaway-Electron Avalanches and Elevated Critical Electric Fields. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.265001
Liu, Chang, Hirvijoki, Eero, Fu, Guo -Yong, Brennan, Dylan P., Bhattacharjee, Amitava, and Paz-Soldan, Carlos. Thu .
"Role of Kinetic Instability in Runaway-Electron Avalanches and Elevated Critical Electric Fields". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.265001. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1460736.
@article{osti_1460736,
title = {Role of Kinetic Instability in Runaway-Electron Avalanches and Elevated Critical Electric Fields},
author = {Liu, Chang and Hirvijoki, Eero and Fu, Guo -Yong and Brennan, Dylan P. and Bhattacharjee, Amitava and Paz-Soldan, Carlos},
abstractNote = {Here, the effects of kinetic whistler wave instabilities on the runaway-electron (RE) avalanche is investigated. With parameters from experiments at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, we show that RE scattering from excited whistler waves can explain several poorly understood experimental results. We find an enhancement of the RE avalanche for low density and high electric field, but for high density and low electric field the scattering can suppress the avalanche and raise the threshold electric field, bringing the present model much closer to observations. The excitation of kinetic instabilities and the scattering of resonant electrons are calculated self-consistently using a quasilinear model and local approximation. We also explain the observed fast growth of electron cyclotron emission signals and excitation of very low-frequency whistler modes observed in the quiescent RE experiments at DIII-D tokamak. Simulations using ITER parameters show that by controlling the background thermal plasma density and temperature, the plasma waves can also be excited spontaneously in tokamak disruptions and the avalanche generation of runaway electrons may be suppressed.},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.265001},
journal = {Physical Review Letters},
number = 26,
volume = 120,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Jun 28 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Thu Jun 28 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}
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Figures / Tables:
FIG. 1.: (a) Growth of RE density with time, with wave diffusion (solid) and without (dashed). (b) ECE signals of second and third core ωce from synthetic diagnostics, with wave diffusion (solid) and without (dashed). (c) Evolution of f integrated over the pitch angle. (d) Whistler wave energy spectrum formore »
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