Numerical study of alpha particle loss with toroidal field ripple based on CFETR steady-state scenario

Effects of plasma equilibrium parameters on the alpha particle loss with the toroidal field ripple based on the CFETR steady-state scenario have been numerically investigated by the orbit-following code GYCAVA. It is found that alpha particle losses decrease and loss regions become narrower with the plasma current increasing or with the magnetic field decreasing. It is because the ripple stochastic transport and the ripple well loss of alpha particle are reduced with the safety factor decreasing. Decrease of the plasma density and temperature can reduce alpha particle losses due to enhancement of the slowing-down effect. The direction of the toroidal magnetic field can significantly affect heat loads induced by lost alpha particle. The vertical asymmetry of heat loads induced by the clockwise and counter-clockwise toroidal magnetic fields are due to the fact that the ripple distribution is asymmetric about the mid-plane, which can be explained by the typical orbits of alpha particle. The maximal heat load of alpha particle for the clockwise toroidal magnetic field is much smaller than that for the counter-clockwise one.

Emission of high-energy alpha particles in nuclear reactions of ^(48)Ca and ^(56)Fe ions on ^(181)Ta and ^(238)U targets

The results of experiments on measuring the energy spectra of alpha particles in reactions with heavy ions are presented.The measurements were performed using the high-resolution magnetic analyzer MAVR with beams of ^(48)Ca(280 MeV)and ^(56)Fe(320 and 400 MeV)on ^(181)Ta and ^(238)U targets at an angle of 0°.A strong dependence of the double differential cross sections for production of alpha particles on the atomic number of the target nucleus was observed,which indicates that fast alpha particles are mainly emitted from the target nucleus;this conclusion was also confirmed by calculations within the time-dependent Schrödinger equation approach.An analysis of the obtained experimental data was carried out within the model of moving sources modified to consider the kinematic limits for two-body and three-body exit channels.

Effect of Au/Ni/4H–SiC Schottky junction thermal stability on performance of alpha particle detection

Au/Ni/n-type 4H-SiC Schottky alpha particle detectors are fabricated and annealed at temperatures between 400℃ and 700 ℃ to investigate the effects of thermal stability of the Schottky contact on the structural and electrical properties of the detectors. At the annealing temperature of 500 ℃, the two nickel silicides （i.e., Ni31Sil2 and Ni2Si） are formed at the interface and result in the formation of an inhomogeneous Schottky barrier. By increasing the annealing temperature, the Ni31Sil2 transforms into the more stable Ni2Si. The structural evolution of the Schottky contact directly affects the electrical properties and alpha particle energy resolutions of the detectors. A better energy resolution of 2.60% is obtained for 5.48-MeV alpha particles with the detector after being annealed at 600 ℃. As a result, the Au/Ni/n-type 4H-SiC Schottky detector shows a good performance after thermal treatment at temperatures up to 700℃.

Alpha particle detector with planar double Schottky contacts directly fabricated on semi-insulating GaN:Fe template

Alpha particle radiation detectors with planar double Schottky contacts(DSC)are directly fabricated on 5-μm-thick epitaxial semi-insulating(SI)GaN:Fe film with resistivity higher than 1×10^(8)Ω·cm.Under 10 V bias,the detector exhibits a low dark current of less than 5.0×10^(-11) A at room-temperature,which increases at higher temperatures.Linear behavior in the semi-log reverse current-voltage plot suggests that Poole-Frenkel emission is the dominant carrier leakage mechanism at high bias.Distinct double-peak characteristics are observed in the energy spectrum of alpha particles regardless of bias voltage.The energy resolution of the SI-GaN based detector is determined to be8.6%at the deposited energy of 1.209 MeV with a charge collection efficiency of81.7%.At a higher temperature of 90℃,the measured full width at half maximum(FWHM)rises to 235 keV with no shift of energy peak position,which proves that the GaN detector has potential to work stably in high temperature environment.This study provides a possible route to fabricate the low cost GaN-based alpha particle detector with reasonable performance.

Simulations of energetic alpha particle loss in the presence of toroidal field ripple in the CFETR tokamak

Energetic alpha particle losses with the toroidal field ripple and the Coulomb collision in the CFETR tokamak have been simulated by using the orbit-following code GYCAVA for the steady-state and hybrid scenarios.The effects of the outer boundary and the ripple amplitude on alpha particle losses have been investigated.The loss fractions and heat loads of alpha particles in the hybrid scenario are much smaller than those in the steady-state scenario for a significant ripple amplitude.Some alpha particles in the plasma core are lost due to the ripple stochastic transport for a large ripple amplitude parameter.The heat loads with the last closed flux surface boundary are different from those with the wall boundary for the CFETR tokamak,which can be explained by typical alpha particle orbits.Discrete heat load spots have been observed in alpha particle loss simulations,which is due to the ripple well loss.The transition of the lost alpha particle behavior from the ripple stochastic diffusion to the ripple well trapping has been identified in our CFETR simulations.The Coulomb collision effect is responsible for this transition.

Contribution of the Large Helical Device Plasmas to Alfvén Eigenmode Physics in Toroidal Plasmas

In the large helical device （LHD） having three dimensional configuration, Alfven eigenmodes （AEs） destabilized by energetic ions are widely investigated using neutral beam heated plasmas with monotonic and non-monotonic rotational transform （l/2π） profiles. In a plasma with monotonic l/2π-profile, core-localized toroidicity-induced Alfven eigenmode （TAE） as well as global one are often observed. With the increase in the averaged toroidal beta value, defined as the ratio of total plasma pressure to toroidal magnetic pressure, core-localized TAE with low toroidal mode number becomes global. In a relatively high beta plasma with monotonic l/2π-profile, two TAEs with different toroidal mode number often interact nonlinearly and generate another modes through three wave coupling. In a plasma with non-monotonic l/2π-profile generated by intense counter neutral beam current drive, reversed shear Alfven eigenmode （RSAE） and geodesic acoustic mode （CAM） excited by energetic ions were observed for the first time in a helical plasma. Nonlinear coupling was also observed between RSAE and GAM.

The Finite Beta Effects on the Toroidal Field Ripple in a Tokamak Plasma

The efficiency of energetic ion confinement is reduced in a tokamak plasma by the non-axisymmetric field, namely the ripple field. The ripple field is produced by a finite number of toroidal field coils. It is affected by the non-axisymmetric finite beta effect. The three-dimensional MHD equilibrium calculation code VMEC is used to analyze the non-axisymmetric finite beta effect in a ripple tokamak. In the VMEC code, the flux coordinates are used, so the calculation region is limited to the area of plasma. To calculate the orbit outside the plasma, we develop a field calculation code, which is based on the Biot-Savart law. The details of the method and results are described in this paper.

Method to Measure Indoor Radon Concentration in an Open Volume with Geiger-Mueller Counters: Analysis from First Principles

A simple method employing a pair of pancake-style Geiger-Mueller (GM) counters for quantitative measurement of radon activity concentration (activity per unit volume) is described and demonstrated. The use of two GM counters, together with the basic theory derived in this paper, permit the detection of alpha particles from decay of and progeny ( 218Po, 214Po) and the conversion of the alpha count rate into a radon concentration. A unique feature of this method, in comparison with standard methodologies to measure radon concentration, is the absence of a fixed control volume. Advantages afforded by the reported GM method include: 1) it provides a direct in-situ value of radon level, thereby eliminating the need to send samples to an external testing laboratory;2) it can be applied to monitoring radon levels exhibiting wide short-term variability;3) it can yield short-term measurements of comparable accuracy and equivalent or higher precision than a commercial radon monitor sampling by passive diffusion;4) it yields long-term measurements statistically equivalent to commercial radon monitors;5) it uses the most commonly employed, overall least expensive, and most easily operated type of nuclear instrumentation. As such, the method is par-ticularly suitable for use by researchers, public health personnel, and home dwellers who prefer to monitor indoor radon levels themselves. The results of a consecutive 30-day sequence of 24 hour mean radon measurements by the proposed GM method and a commercial state-of-the-art radon monitor certified for radon testing are compared.

Electromagnetic Theory of the Nuclear Interaction

After one century of nuclear physics, its underlying fundamental laws remain a puzzle. Rutherford scattering is well known to be electric at low kinetic energy. Nobody noticed that the Rutherford scattering formula works also at high kinetic energy, needing only to replace the repulsive electric -2 exponent by the also repulsive magnetic -6 exponent. A proton attracts a not so neutral neutron as amber attracts dust. The nucleons have magnetic moments that interact as magnets, equilibrating statically the electric attraction between a proton and a not so neutral neutron. In this paper, the electromagnetic potential energies of the deuteron 2H and the α particle 4He have been calculated statically, using only electromagnetic fundamental laws and constants. Nuclear scattering and binding energy are both electromagnetic.

Study of a sealed high gas pressure THGEM detector and response of alpha particle spectra

A sealed high gas pressure detector working in pure argon is assembled.It consists of a 5 cm × 5 cm PCB THGEM（THick Gaseous Electron Multiplier）.The detector structure and experimental setup are described.The performance under high pressure（2 atm） is examined,selecting optimal voltages for the ionization region and induction region.The dependence of the shape of alpha particle spectra measured with relative gas gain on gas pressure（1.3-2.0 atm） has been studied.Eight data sets of relative gas gain versus working voltage of THGEM,expressed by weighting field E/P,are normalized,consistent with theory.The results show that the air tightness of the chamber is good,measured by a sensitive barometer and checked with gas gain.The experimental results are compared with Monte Carlo simulation of energy deposition without gas gain involved.