2025 – Investigation of fusion-produced alpha driven wave-particle instabilities and validation of theory

Investigation of fusion-produced alpha driven wave-particle instabilities and validation of theory

2025 Research Campaign, Torkil Jensen Award

Purpose of Experiment

This experiment will deliver measurements and validation of theory for drive of fast-ion instabilities including ion cyclotron emission (ICE) in plasmas with a fast-ion population dominated by 3.6 MeV α particles from the D-3He reactions in 3He plasmas heated by D neutral beams. The α particles from D-3He reactions are very similar to the 3.5 MeV α particles expected to dominate the fast-ion population in a burning D-T plasma.

Experimental Approach

These studies will take place in hot (Ti ~ 15 keV), high current (IP = 2 MA) discharges. At this high value of Ti, the D-3He reaction rate will be comparable to the D-D reaction rate and the higher concentration of 3He compared to beam ions will lead to more products from D-3He reactions than D-D reactions. The high current will maximize α confinement by minimizing the radial size of α particle drift orbits, while the 14.7 Mev protons from D-3He reactions will be very poorly confined due their much large orbit size, leaving α particles the dominant fusion product. Beam modulation will be used to create periods largely free of the beam ions, which thermalize much more quickly than α particles, so that α particles are the dominant source of drive for fast-ion driven instabilities. A population dominated by fusion-produced α particles will differ from the beam ion populations common to many fusion research tokamaks in several keys ways. First, the fusion produced α population is expected to be highly super-Alfvénic, in contrast with beam ions, which are sub-Alfvénic in DIII-D and many other tokamaks. Second, the fusion-produced α population is also much more isotropic at birth. Both factors are expected to play a significant role in the drive for these instabilities. The experiment may potentially provide a similar opportunity for Alfvén eigenmodes.

Join us during Nuclear Science Week! DIII-D will be hosting public tours of our facility on October 21st at 9am and 2pm. Come see how our incredible team of scientists and engineers from around the world are working together to move fusion energy from science fiction to reality.

Advanced registration required: 2026 DIII-D Tours

X