The next step toward fusion as a practical energy source is the design and construction of ITER [R. Aymar et al, Nucl. Fusion 41, 1301 (2001)], a device capable of producing and controlling the high-performance plasma required for self-sustaining fusion reactions, i.e., “burning plasma.” ITER relies in part on ion-cyclotron radio frequency power to heat the deuterium and tritium fuel to fusion temperatures. In order to heat effectively, the radio frequency wave fields must couple efficiently to the dense core plasma. Calculations in this paper support the argument that this will be the case. Three-dimensional full-wave simulations show that fast magnetosonic waves in ITER propagate radially inward with strong central focusing and little toroidal spreading. Energy deposition, current drive, and plasma flow are all highly localized near the plasma center. Very high resolution, two-dimensional calculations reveal the presence of mode conversion layers, where fast waves can be converted to slow ion cyclotron waves. When minority ions such as deuterium or helium-3 are used to damp the launched waves, these ions can be accelerated to high energies, forming suprathermal tails that significantly affect the wave propagation and absorption. By neglecting the toroidal localization of the waves and the finite radial excursion of the energetic particle orbits, the quasilinear evolution of these suprathermal ion tails can be simulated self-consistently in one spatial dimension and two velocity dimensions.
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July 2008
Research Article|
July 22 2008
Simulation of high-power electromagnetic wave heating in the ITER burning plasma
E. F. Jaeger;
E. F. Jaeger
1
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6169, USA
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L. A. Berry;
L. A. Berry
1
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6169, USA
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E. F. D’Azevedo;
E. F. D’Azevedo
1
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6169, USA
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R. F. Barrett;
R. F. Barrett
1
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6169, USA
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S. D. Ahern;
S. D. Ahern
1
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6169, USA
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D. W. Swain;
D. W. Swain
1
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6169, USA
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D. B. Batchelor;
D. B. Batchelor
1
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6169, USA
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R. W. Harvey;
R. W. Harvey
2
CompX
, P.O. Box 2672, Del Mar, California 92014-5672, USA
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J. R. Myra;
J. R. Myra
3
Lodestar Research Corporation
, 2400 Central Avenue P-5, Boulder, Colorado 80301, USA
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D. A. D’Ippolito;
D. A. D’Ippolito
3
Lodestar Research Corporation
, 2400 Central Avenue P-5, Boulder, Colorado 80301, USA
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C. K. Phillips;
C. K. Phillips
4
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
, P.O. Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA
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E. Valeo;
E. Valeo
4
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
, P.O. Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA
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D. N. Smithe;
D. N. Smithe
5
Tech-X Corporation
, 5621 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80303, USA
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P. T. Bonoli;
P. T. Bonoli
6Plasma Fusion Center,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
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J. C. Wright;
J. C. Wright
6Plasma Fusion Center,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
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M. Choi
M. Choi
7
General Atomics
, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, California 92186-5608, USA
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Phys. Plasmas 15, 072513 (2008)
Article history
Received:
April 10 2008
Accepted:
June 25 2008
Citation
E. F. Jaeger, L. A. Berry, E. F. D’Azevedo, R. F. Barrett, S. D. Ahern, D. W. Swain, D. B. Batchelor, R. W. Harvey, J. R. Myra, D. A. D’Ippolito, C. K. Phillips, E. Valeo, D. N. Smithe, P. T. Bonoli, J. C. Wright, M. Choi; Simulation of high-power electromagnetic wave heating in the ITER burning plasma. Phys. Plasmas 1 July 2008; 15 (7): 072513. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2959128
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