Nuclear Fusion (Jan 2024)

Detection of alpha heating in JET-ILW DT plasmas by a study of the electron temperature response to ICRH modulation

  • P. Mantica,
  • F. Auriemma,
  • I. Casiraghi,
  • D. Gallart,
  • K. Kirov,
  • E. Lerche,
  • A. Salmi,
  • A. Dal Molin,
  • E. Delabie,
  • J. Eriksson,
  • J. Garcia,
  • P. Huynh,
  • P. Jacquet,
  • T. Jonsson,
  • V. Kiptily,
  • E. Litherland–Smith,
  • C.F. Maggi,
  • M. Mantsinen,
  • G. Marcer,
  • M. Maslov,
  • S. Menmuir,
  • M. Nocente,
  • E. Peluso,
  • G. Pucella,
  • D. Rigamonti,
  • Z. Stancar,
  • H. Sun,
  • G. Szepesi,
  • M. Tardocchi,
  • D. Van Eester,
  • JET Contributors

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ad52aa
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 64, no. 8
p. 086001

Abstract

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In the JET DTE2 campaign a new method was successfully tested to detect the heating of bulk electrons by α-particles, using the dynamic response of the electron temperature T _e to the modulation of ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH). A fundamental deuterium (D) ICRH scheme was applied to a tritium-rich hybrid plasma with D-neutral beam injection (NBI). The modulation of the ion temperature T _i and of the ICRH accelerated deuterons leads to modulated α -heating with a large delay with respect to other modulated electron heating terms. A significant phase delay of ∼40° is measured between central T _e and T _i , which can only be explained by α -particle heating. Integrated modelling using different models for ICRH absorption and ICRH/NBI interaction reproduces the effect qualitatively. Best agreement with experiment is obtained with the European Transport Solver/Heating and Current Drive workflow.

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