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Research Needs for Magnetic Fusion Energy Sciences - US Burning ...

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and morphology, are needed. new measurement requirements include profile, flow and fluctuation<br />

measurements with better geometric coverage; measurements of ly-a and other radiation sources<br />

in dense divertor plasmas to account <strong>for</strong> radiation transfer and opacity effects; and neutral density<br />

in the divertor, sol and edge pedestal to understand fueling and divertor per<strong>for</strong>mance. measurements<br />

of radiofrequency sheaths and heat flux measurements on plasma facing components using<br />

infrared thermography and calorimetry with extensive 3-d coverage, and in-situ erosion and redeposition<br />

measurements, are needed <strong>for</strong> rigorous testing of thermal load predictions as well as prediction<br />

of impurity generation rate and distribution. data from integrated high heat flux, steadystate<br />

confinement devices with relevant wall conditions, complemented by basic plasma physics<br />

devices and plasma-wall interaction test stands, will be required <strong>for</strong> validation.<br />

Energetic Particle Physics<br />

Science Opportunities:<br />

• Will the <strong>for</strong>mation of energetic particles in burning plasmas lead to the generation of new<br />

instabilities? if so, what types of instabilities? What are their thresholds <strong>for</strong> excitation?<br />

how do they grow and saturate?<br />

• do these instabilities lead to a state of turbulence and in what way might this turbulence<br />

couple to the thermal pressure gradient-driven turbulence?<br />

• how do the energetic particles and/or the background plasma turbulent transport,<br />

mhd equilibrium and RF driven currents respond to energetic particle modes and/or<br />

turbulence?<br />

research requirements<br />

Theory, computational, and experimental work is needed to understand the nonlinear saturation<br />

and development of a new regime of turbulence and associated transport due to fast-particle physics.<br />

new methods <strong>for</strong> long-term simulations are required that can track the evolution of fast particle<br />

generation (which occurs on confinement time scales) while simultaneously capturing the short<br />

time scale fast particle/wave interactions driving the turbulence. emerging diagnostic techniques<br />

(e.g., energetic ion distribution and loss diagnostics) should be incorporated into existing laboratory-scale<br />

and confinement experiments, and coupled to direct measurements of alfvén eigenmodes<br />

(ae) and alfvén turbulence using, <strong>for</strong> example, reflectometry, beam emission spectroscopy (bes),<br />

correlation electron cyclotron emission and other emerging spatiotemporally resolved diagnostics<br />

that have traditionally been used to study drift turbulence and transport. development of local<br />

magnetic field fluctuation measurements <strong>for</strong> determining amplitude and mode structure would<br />

also be valuable. synthetic diagnostic development in models is also needed.<br />

Disruptions: Prediction, avoidance, and Mitigation<br />

Science Opportunities:<br />

• can the probability of a disruption event be reduced to something less than one disruption<br />

per year while operating a steady-state advanced tokamak at high per<strong>for</strong>mance?<br />

• can we successfully and accurately predict the approach to a disruption event and initiate<br />

control techniques to avoid the disruption?<br />

90

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