Study of macro- and micro-scale plasma heating during merging/reconnection startup of high beta spherical tokamak

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K20921
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Nuclear fusion studies; Plasma science
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Tanabe Hiroshi 東京大学, 大学院新領域創成科学研究科, 助教 (30726013)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: プラズマ・核融合 / 球状トカマク / 磁気リコネクション / コンピュータトモグラフィ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research project proceeds the study of plasma heating during merging/reconnection of two toroidal plasmas in laboratory experiments at the university of Tokyo and MAST (the world largest spherical tokamak at CCFE, UK). As a new finding, it is found that magnetic reconnection heats electrons locally in microscopic region around X-point and globally downstream of reconnection outflow. In laboratory experiments at the university of Tokyo, more detailed high resolution ion Doppler tomography measurement has been done with in-situ probe measurement of in-plane magnetic field and successfully reproduced the structure of global ion heating which forms high temperature ring on the thick layer of closed flux which is formed by reconnected magnetic field.

Free Research Field

プラズマ物理・核融合