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It has been shown in previous studies that at 110 km altitude, the electron temperature can be quite large in the presence of strong electric fields. This thesis explores the possibility of deviations from the normal trends in the high latitude E-region electron heating in reaction to strong electric fields. The study is based on data from the EISCAT Incoherent Scatter Radar during the International Polar Year. Out of a large number of possibilities (the radar operated essentially on a continuous basis for a year) only seven events proved to have sufficiently strong electric fields and large enough plasma densities to be characterized as ‘good heating events’. The electron temperature enhancements in these events, at 110 km, were several hundred K above from the background temperature and correlated well with ion temperature at 150 km altitude. The results for these good events agreed very well with past studies, aside from the smaller starting temperatures which were likely connected to the quiet solar conditions at the time. This stated, a different type of E region electron heating event was identified. In that case the E region electron densities were small (night-time conditions free of electron precipitation) and the electron temperatures reached a maximum near 150 km altitude. In those events the electron temperature enhancements extended down to the lower altitudes, introducing small, but detectable, electron temperature enhancements all the way down to 105 km altitude. .

Um sistema de diagnóstico por espectroscopia no visível foi implantado no tokamak TBR-I. O diagnóstico consiste de um espectrógrafo (do tipo Czerny-Turner), um sistema de acoplamento óptico e um detetor multicanal (MCP). O diagnóstico foi usado para observar e identificar impurezas presentes no plasma do TBR-I. As principais impurezas observadas foram oxigênio (O-II) e nitrogênio (N-II). Foi feito um estudo no alargamento das linhas do hidrogênio e dos íons para se obter a temperatura a partir do efeito Doppler. As intensidades das linhas espectrais foram observadas de descarga em descarga. / A visible spectroscopic diagnostic was implemented on TBR-I tokamak. The diagnostic system consist of a 1,5 m spectrograph (Czerny-Turner type), an optical coupling system and a microchannel plate (MCP) detector. The diagnostic system was used to examine and document the impurity content of the plasma in TBR-I. The main impurities discovered were oxygen (O-II) and nitrogen (N-II). Line broadening experiments were performed on hydrogen and ions to obtain the temperatures using Doppler broadening effects. The intensities of the spectral lines were measured on a shot to shot basis.

The transport of heat out of tokamak plasmas by turbulence is the dominant mechanism limiting the performance of fusion reactors. Turbulence can be driven by the ion temperature gradient (ITG) and suppressed by toroidal equilibrium scale sheared flows. Numerical simulations attempting to understand, and ultimately reduce, turbulence are crucial for guiding the design and optimisation of future reactors. In this thesis, we investigate ion-scale turbulence by means of local gyrokinetic simulations in the outer core of the Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST).We perform a parameter scan in the values of the ITG and the flow shear. We show that nonlinear simulations reproduce the experimental ion heat flux and that the experimentally measured values of the ITG and the flow shear lie close to the turbulence threshold. We demonstrate that the system is subcritical in the presence of flow shear, i.e., the system is formally stable to small perturbations, but transitions to a turbulent state given a large enough initial perturbation. We propose a scenario for the transition to subcritical turbulence previously unreported in tokamak plasmas: close to the threshold, the plasma is dominated by a low number of coherent long-lived structures; as the system is taken away from the threshold into the more unstable regime, the number of these structures increases until they fill the domain and a more conventional turbulence emerges. We make quantitative comparisons of correlation properties between our simulations and experimental measurements of ion-scale density fluctuations from the MAST BES diagnostic. We apply a synthetic diagnostic to our simulation data and find reasonable agreement of the correlation properties of the simulated and experimental turbulence, most notably of the correlation time, for which significant discrepancies were found in previous numerical studies of MAST turbulence. We show that the properties of turbulence are essentially functions of the distance to threshold, as quantified by the ion heat flux. We find that turbulence close to the threshold is strongly affected by flow shear, whereas far from threshold, the turbulence resembles a conventional ITG-driven, zonal-flow damped regime.

Um sistema de diagnóstico por espectroscopia no visível foi implantado no tokamak TBR-I. O diagnóstico consiste de um espectrógrafo (do tipo Czerny-Turner), um sistema de acoplamento óptico e um detetor multicanal (MCP). O diagnóstico foi usado para observar e identificar impurezas presentes no plasma do TBR-I. As principais impurezas observadas foram oxigênio (O-II) e nitrogênio (N-II). Foi feito um estudo no alargamento das linhas do hidrogênio e dos íons para se obter a temperatura a partir do efeito Doppler. As intensidades das linhas espectrais foram observadas de descarga em descarga. / A visible spectroscopic diagnostic was implemented on TBR-I tokamak. The diagnostic system consist of a 1,5 m spectrograph (Czerny-Turner type), an optical coupling system and a microchannel plate (MCP) detector. The diagnostic system was used to examine and document the impurity content of the plasma in TBR-I. The main impurities discovered were oxygen (O-II) and nitrogen (N-II). Line broadening experiments were performed on hydrogen and ions to obtain the temperatures using Doppler broadening effects. The intensities of the spectral lines were measured on a shot to shot basis.

By examining continuous data from the Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar (PFISR) in Poker Flat, Alaska, short-lived enhancements in the F-region ion temperature, or "Tᵢ spikes", were discovered in the evening while the radar was on the equatorward edge of the high latitude convection region. These enhancements were several hundred Kelvin above the background temperature, would last less than 15 minutes and were preceded by sharp depletions in plasma density (of roughly one half). Though they were mostly detected in the summer, 25 events throughout a whole year of data were identi ed in which the spike occurred within 1.5 hours of the density drop. By examining the location of PFISR at the time of the enhancements, as well as the conditions under which these spikes occurred, it was concluded that these enhancements were the result of electric elds increasing the frictional heating between ions and neutrals. By then examining geophysical data, it was found that these events were temporal and related to changes in magnetic indices. One possible explanation for the observations is that the electric eld is at its strongest near the plasmapause during substorms. Another more likely possibility is that during substorms the region of sunward ion convection expands into a region in the evening side where the neutral gas moves in a direction opposite to the ions, thereby enhancing the frictional heating rate.

Interactions between an intense laser pulse and cluster targets are investigated using the recent experimental results of the cluster fusion experiments on the Texas Petawatt Laser (TPW). We achieved about 2x10⁷ DD fusion neutrons per shot on the TPW by optimizing the laser and gas jet parameters. A few different types of cluster targets were used on the TPW including deuterium clusters, deuterated methane clusters, deuterium cluster + helium-3 mixture, and deuterated methane cluster + helium-3 mixture. We designed our own neutron detectors and proton detectors for the measurements of the fusion yields. The calibration method of neutron detectors is described in detail. Through the yield measurements of the 2.45 MeV neutrons from the DD fusion reactions and 14.7 MeV protons from the D-³He fusion reactions in the deuterium-helium-3 mixture target, we successfully measured the ion temperature of the fusion plasma at the time of the fusion reactions. / text

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde das Strömungsverhalten eines magnetisierten Argonplasmas beim Auftreffen auf eine neutralisierende Oberfläche untersucht. Mit Hilfe der Laserinduzierten Fluoreszenz wurde dazu nicht-invasiv die Geschwindigkeitsverteilung der Ionen mit einer Ortsauflösung von standardmäßig dz=0.5 mm als Funktion des Abstandes zur Oberfläche gemessen. Zwei Situationen wurden untersucht (a): praktisch das ganze Plasma strömt auf ein großes Target (Durchmesser 100 mm) und (b) die Größe des Targets ist wesentlich kleiner (Durchmesser 15 mm) als der Durchmesser der Plasmasäule. Unmittelbar vor der Oberfläche war in beiden Fällen die Strömungsgeschwindigkeit u mindestens so groß wie die Ionenschallgeschwindigkeit cs, genau wie von Bohm bereits 1949 vorhergesagt[]. Unter fusionsrelevanten Bedingungen ist dies die erste direkte Beobachtung des Bohmkriteriums. Bei Annäherung an die Oberfläche steigt die Machzahl M=u/cs von 0.5 auf 1 auf typischen Skalenlängen lambda_a=30 mm bzw. lambda_b=5 mm an. Um diese kurzen Längen erklären zu können wurden die Messdaten in (a) mit einem Stoß-Diffusionsmodell und im Falle von (b) mit dem Modell von Hutchinson[] verglichen. Eine gute Übereinstimmung in (a) wurde erzielt, wenn eine sehr niedrige Neutralgastemperatur von etwa 400 K angenommen wird. Die Messdaten in (b) werden sehr gut durch das Modell wiedergegeben, wenn ein Transportkoeffizient von D=20 m²/s angenommen wird. Ein derartig hoher Transport kann unmöglich allein durch Diffusion verursacht werden. Teilweise kann dieser Transport anhand der endlichen Gyroradien erklärt werden, vermutlich aber spielen auch zeitabhängige Phänomene, wie z.B. Driftwellen eine wichtige Rolle. Weiterhin wurde die Abhängigkeit von dem Winkel zwischen Flächennormalen und B-Feld untersucht. Die unmittelbar vor der Oberfläche auftretenden Überschallströmungen werden verhältnismäßig gut von dem Modell von Chodura[] beschrieben. Im Gegensatz dazu ist die Größe der Zone in der Machzahlen größer eins auftreten deutlich kleiner, als vom Modell vorhergesagt. / In the present work the streaming behavior of a magnetized argon plasma impinging on a neutralizing surface was investigated. For that purpose the ion velocity distribution was measured non-invasively as a function of the distance to the surface by means of Laser Induced Fluorescence. The spatial resolution was typically dz=0.5 mm. Two situations are investigated, (a): when practically the whole plasma streams onto a large target (diameter 100 mm), and (b): when the size of the target (diameter 15 mm) is significantly smaller than the diameter of the plasma column. In both cases the streaming velocity u was at least as high as the ion acoustic sound speed, as already predicted by Bohm in 1949. Under fusion relevant conditions this is the first direct observation of the Bohm criterion. Approaching the target surface the Mach number M=u/c_s increases from values of around 0.5 to 1 on typical scales of lambda_a=30 mm and lambda_b=5 mm, respectively. In order to explain these very short scale lengths the measured data were compared with a collisional-diffusive model in the case of (a) and with Hutchinson''s model[] in the case of (b). A good agreement was achieved in (a) by assuming a very low neutral gas temperature of about 400 K. In (b) the model fits the data excellently when the transport coefficient is chosen as high as D=20 m²/s. Such a high transport cannot be caused solely by diffusion. Partly it is explained by finite gyro-radii effects, but presumably time dependent phenomena, like drift waves, play an important role. In addition the dependence on the angle between surface normal and B-field was investigated. The supersonic fluxes found in the immediate vicinity of the surface are described fairly well by the model developed by Chodura[]. By contrast the size of the region, where Mach numbers greater one appear is significantly smaller than predicted.

Next-generation and present fusion devices such as the Joint European Torus (JET) aim for plasma operations in H-mode, a plasma regime with high confinement and low loss of energy and fuel that results from a barrier for heat and particle transport at the plasma edge, the pedestal. Due to steep gradients of the density, temperature and pressure profiles, the pedestal experiences instabilities called Edge-localized-modes (ELMs) which lead to large fluxes of heat and particles that might damage machine components. A theoretical value for the critical threshold for the pressure gradient is determined by the Peeling-Ballooning (PB) model. Although this model has been rather reliable, experiments have shown a discrepancy between the experimental pedestal pressure gradient and the critical pressure gradient determined by the model. A number of experimental gradients were significantly lower than the predicted gradients. The mechanisms responsible for this discrepancy are not fully understood yet. The present hypothesis identifies the relative shift between the positions of the temperature and density pedestals and neutral pressure as key parameters, related to input power and gas dosing among other engineering parameters. Further impact could arise from the assumption of equal ion and electron temperature and the neglecting of the plasma rotation (velocity). In order to investigate this issue more thoroughly, JET established a comprehensive database containing pedestal characteristics. As a part of this work, a software has been implemented to visualize the data since such a tool did not exist yet. The tool enables the plotting of pedestal related parameters while specific data subsets can be selected or neglected. The tool has been used to investigate the impact of ion temperature and plasma rotation on the discrepancy between the theoretical and experimental critical gradients. Hereby, many relevant parameters needed to be constrained to observe an isolated impact of ion temperature and plasma rotation. The results of this investigation support the hypothesis that mainly the relative shift affects the discrepancy between experimental and predicted pressure gradient, but that also the use of experimental ion temperature can contribute to reduce the discrepancy. / Nästa generations och nuvarande fusionsanordningar, såsom Joint European Torus (JET), syftar till plasmaoperationer i H-läge, en plasmaregim med hög inneslutning och låg förlust av energi och bränsle som är ett resultat av en barriär för värme­ och partikeltransport vid plasmakanten, piedestalen. På grund av branta gradienter i densitets-, temperatur- och tryckprofilerna, är piedestalen instabil. Instabiliteten kallas Edge-Localised-Mode (ELM) och leder till stora flöden av värme och partiklar som kan skada maskinkomponenter. En kritisk tröskel för tryckgradienten bestäms av modellen Peeling-Ballooning (PB). Även om denna modell har varit ganska tillförlitlig, har experiment visat en diskrepans mellan den experimentella piedestaltryckgradienten och den kritiska tryckgradienten som bestäms av modellen. Ett antal experimentellt uppmätta kritiska gradienter är signifikant lägre än de förväntade enligt modellen. De mekanismer som ligger bakom denna diskrepans är ännu inte helt klarlagda. Den nuvarande hypotesen identifierar skillander i pos positionen av temperature- och täthetspiedestalen, samt trycket från neutraler som nyckelparametrar, relaterade till inmatad effekt och gasdosering bland andra ingenjörparametrar. Ytterligare påverkan kan uppstå genom antagandet att joner och elektroner har samma temperatur och försummandet av plasmarotationen. För att undersöka denna fråga mer ingående upprättade JET en omfattande databas med piedestalegenskaper. Som en del av detta arbete har en programvara implementerats för att visualisera data eftersom ett sådant verktyg inte funnits tidigare. Verktyget möjliggör plottning av piedestalrelaterade parametrar medan specifika data delmängder kan väljas eller väljas bort. Verktyget har använts för att undersöka inverkan av jontemperatur och plasmarotation på diskrepansen mellan teoretiska och experimentell kritiska tryckgradienten. För denna analys behövde många relevanta parametrar begränsas för att observera en isolerad påverkan av jontemperatur och plasmarotationen. Resultaten av denna undersökning stödjer hypotesen att det relativa skiftet främst påverkar diskrepansen mellan experimentell och förutsedd tryckgradient men att även användning av experimentell jontemperatur kan bidra till att minska diskrepansen.