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Two kinds of fluorides are proposed innovatively to modulate the dielectric property of the plasma by reducing the electron density. There is a maximum of 74.41% electron density reduction after the fluorides are injected into the plasma at a magnitude of 1019 m−3, and the corresponding plasma frequency reduction is 49.42%. The fluorides proposed in this paper exhibit a wider modulation range, a faster modulation speed, and a longer maintenance time compared with SF6. The electromagnetic (EM) wave transmission characteristics in plasma are modulated correspondingly. The attenuation of S21 is reduced by 15.11–20.11 dB in 6–18 GHz, and an enhancement in the whole experimental frequency range is observed compared with SF6. The results of the paper can be applied in the mitigation of reentry vehicle's EM wave attenuation induced by the over-dense plasma sheath covering the vehicle. In addition, it also has a potential in broad applications of EM wave and plasma interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We proposed a dynamic mitigation method for plasma instabilities based on a phase control to mitigate plasma instabilities and to smooth plasma non-uniformities [e.g., Phys. Plasmas, 19 (2012), 024503]. In plasmas, perturbation phase would be unknown in general, and instability growth rate is discussed. However, if the perturbation is introduced by, for example, an illumination non-uniformity of an input energy driver beam, the perturbation phase would be defined by the driver illumination non-uniformity itself. When the driver axis is controlled by its axis oscillation or wobbling motion, the perturbation phase would be known and controlled. By the superimposition of the growing phase-controlled perturbations, the overall plasma instability growth is mitigated. The dynamic mitigation method is effective to mitigate growths of various plasma instabilities. At the same time, it was found that the phase of the growing perturbations mitigated would be still defined by the initial imprint. In this paper, the initial imprint effect is focused on the dynamic mitigation mechanism in plasmas. The results in this paper demonstrate that the initial imprint effect is reduced by an appropriate pulse shaping of the oscillating or wobbling perturbation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma impedance probes measure the impedance spectrum of an antenna immersed in a plasma. The 1964 work of Balmain remains the standard method to interpret these data, using the peak in the magnitude at the upper-hybrid frequency to infer plasma electron density. The primary limitations of Balmain's model are the assumption of a homogenous plasma and a cylindrical dipole. This work presents a numerical model applicable to inhomogeneous plasma and arbitrary antenna geometry based on the cold, fluid approximation given by Balmain. This model solves Poisson's equation using the finite element method and accounts for the effects of the dipole using the plasma complete electrode model (PCEM). The PCEM is developed in this article and accounts for the voltage shunting effects of the dipole elements, the discrete current to the dipole, and the plasma sheath surrounding the dipole. The sheath is incorporated as a contact impedance between the dipole and the plasma in a manner analogous to the complete electrode model of electrical impedance tomography. The first portion of this paper presents the mathematical framework of the PCEM, starting from Maxwell's equations. The second part of the paper compares the output of this numerical method to Balmain's work and to data collected by an impedance probe in the Space Physics Simulation Chamber at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. The PCEM results agree with both the observed data and the prior modeling done by Balmain. An additional consequence of the numerical study is the observation that some second-order resonances not predicted by Balmain's model can be attributed to the presence of the plasma sheath. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conditions of stratification of a radio frequency positive column plasma in argon over a pressure range from 0.1 to 2 Torr are studied using experiments and particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision (PIC-MCC) simulations. The PIC-MCC simulations include a simple chemistry model for metastable production and losses, stepwise ionization, and associative ionization. Experiments in a 1.1 cm radius positive column plasma in argon in a 13.56 MHz radio frequency field reveal well-defined standing striations between 0.05 and 1 Torr. Adding a percentage of up to 10% hydrogen in the discharge does not affect the stratification around 0.1 Torr and below. Since hydrogen is a good quencher of argon atoms in the metastable state, this indicates that the presence of metastable atoms plays no role in the stratification of the positive column at this pressure and below. At pressures above 0.3 Torr, the striations disappear with the addition of a lower percentage of hydrogen in the experiment, showing that the presence of metastable atoms is necessary for the formation of striations at sufficiently high pressure. The PIC-MCC simulations are consistent with the experimental results and with the theory based on dispersion relations, presented in a companion paper [J. P. Boeuf, L. Boufendi, M. K. Dosbolayev, S. A. Orazbayev, T. S. Ramazanov, Phys. Plasmas 31, 073508 (2024)], which demonstrates that the negativity of the thermoelectric term related to the Dufour effect in the electron energy flux is responsible for stratification even when metastable ionization is dominant. The non-linearity of metastable ionization with electron density is not responsible for stratification in the conditions considered in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights the most important results achieved at the spherical tokamak Globus-M2 with a high magnetic field. This paper also covers the most important topics of fusion research: thermal energy confinement in regimes with neutral beam injection, toroidal Alfvén eigenmode and correspondent fast ions confinement issues, L-H transition, turbulence suppression and edge-localized modes' behavior, experimental and theoretical study of regimes with nitrogen seeding that allow to significantly reduce thermal loads on the divertor plates, and experiments and simulations of lower hybrid current drive. The research results provide the basis for the next step toward a fusion neutron source—the development of the Globus-3 spherical tokamak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two recent papers, P. H. Yoon and G. Choe, Phys. Plasmas 28, 082306 (2021) and Yoon et al., Phys. Plasmas 29, 112303 (2022), utilized in the derivation of the kinetic equation for the intensity of turbulent fluctuations the assumption that the wave spectra are isotropic, that is, the ensemble-averaged magnetic field tensorial fluctuation intensity is given by the isotropic diagonal form, ⟨ δ B i δ B j ⟩ k = ⟨ δ B 2 ⟩ k δ i j . However, it is more appropriate to describe the incompressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence involving shear Alfvénic waves by modeling the turbulence spectrum as being anisotropic. That is, the tensorial fluctuation intensity should be different in diagonal elements across and along the direction of the wave vector, ⟨ δ B i δ B j ⟩ k = 1 2 ⟨ δ B ⊥ 2 ⟩ k (δ i j − k i k j / k 2) + ⟨ δ B ∥ 2 ⟩ k (k i k j / k 2). In the present paper, we thus reformulate the weak magnetohydrodynamic turbulence theory under the assumption of anisotropy and work out the form of nonlinear wave kinetic equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the flight of hypersonic vehicle, air will be decomposed and ionized due to the "friction" under ultra-high speed, thus forming a plasma layer. Because the plasma has the ability to absorb and reflect electromagnetic waves, the "black barrier" phenomenon is formed. In addition, when the hypersonic vehicle passes through the atmosphere, the surface temperature rises sharply due to aerodynamic heating, and the surface material undergoes a series of complex changes to form ablation. In this paper, the finite volume method and the laminar finite rate model are used to study the flow field velocity, pressure distribution, flow field temperature, and spatial distribution of each component of the aircraft at different Mach numbers, angles of attack, and heights. In the flow field of supersonic aircraft, N and O are mainly concentrated in the tail of the aircraft, NO is mainly concentrated in the head of the aircraft, and N2 and O2 are full of the whole space. Because of the accumulation of NO+ and O2+ in the tail of the aircraft, the charge accumulation is formed, which will further interfere with the electromagnetic wave signal. The mass fraction of N and O increases with the increase in Mach numbers, while the mass fraction of O2 decreases with the increase in Mach numbers. Different angles of attack will affect the asymmetry of the shock wave of the aircraft. In this paper, the evolution mechanism and distribution characteristics of aircraft plasma are revealed, which lay a theoretical foundation for solving the problem of black barrier and ablation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel design methodology based on a current-tunable magnetic focusing system that can flexibly switch between Brillouin and immersive flow focusing modes is presented in this paper. Such a magnetic system, which comprises cascaded solenoid coils and pole pieces, could be used in beam optics systems of vacuum tubes, particle accelerators, and free-electron lasers. Although the profile of this magnetic system is not brand new, the novel way proposed in this paper to establish and manipulate such a system to fit versatile purposes has never been reported in the literature to the best of the authors' knowledge. The specific structure of the magnetic system should be optimized, starting from the immersive flow focusing mode together with the electron gun design, which will be determined on successful optimization. According to our analysis, such systems could be transformed into the Brillouin bunching mode by simply adjusting the coil currents without modifying the hardware. To verify such an approach, single-beam and multi-beam optical systems are demonstrated in this paper. Moreover, the beam radius in such systems could also be conveniently adjusted via a similar technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plasma weak turbulence theory is a perturbative nonlinear theory, which has been proven to be quite valid in a number of applications. However, the standard weak turbulence theory found in the literature is fully developed for highly idealized unmagnetized plasmas. As many plasmas found in nature and laboratory are immersed in a background static magnetic field, it is necessary to extend the existing discussions to include the effects of ambient magnetic field. Such a task is quite formidable, however, which has prevented fundamental and significant progresses in the subject matter. The central difficulty lies in the formulation of the complete nonlinear response functions for magnetized plasmas. The present paper derives the nonlinear susceptibilities for weakly turbulent magnetized plasmas up to the third order nonlinearity, but in doing so, a substantial reduction in mathematical complexity is achieved by the use of Bessel function addition theorem (or sum rule). The present paper also constructs the weak turbulence wave kinetic equation in a formal sense. For the sake of simplicity, however, the present paper assumes the electrostatic interaction among plasma particles. Fully electromagnetic generalization is a subject of a subsequent paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel coupling of a kinetic description of neutrals with a fluid description of a fusion plasma. The code, plasma interacting super-atoms and molecules (PISAM), employs a grid-free Cartesian geometry and a direct simulation Monte Carlo approach to solve the kinetic equations of deuterium atoms and molecules. The grid-free geometry and the parallel nature of the neutral dynamics, in the absence of neutral–neutral interactions, allow for an unlimited and work-efficient parallelization of PISAM that always ensures a balanced workload. The highly optimized Python implementation obtains good performance while securing easy accessibility to new users. The coupling of PISAM with the edge turbulence model HESEL is outlined with emphasis on the technical aspects of coupling Message Passing Interface-parallelized Python and C++ codes. Furthermore, the paper presents and analyzes simulation results from running the coupled HESEL-PISAM model. These results demonstrate the impact of radial neutral transport and plasma–neutral dynamics perpendicular to the magnetic field. Specifically, they illustrate how the inward flow of neutral kinetic energy and the inhibition of radial electric shear, resulting from poloidal momentum transfer between atoms and ions, can affect the energy containment time. By comparing the results of the HESEL-PISAM model with those obtained from coupling HESEL with a diffusive-fluid-neutral model, the capabilities of diffusion models in predicting neutral transport in the plasma edge and scrape-off layer are elucidated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract-dynamic plasma sheath can severely interfere with the communication of hypersonic vehicles during atmospheric reentry. Theoretical and experimental results show that low-frequency (LF) electromagnetic (EM) waves could penetrate the plasma sheath, building a feasible method to solve the "radio blackout" problem. This paper discovers that the propagation of LF EM waves in plasmas is still influenced by parasitic modulation effects. Compared to microwave frequencies, the impact of parasitic modulation effects on signal modulation patterns is more distinct for LF EM waves. In contrast to the microwave frequency range, where the rotation direction of QPSK signal constellation points changes with the ratio of plasma frequency to electromagnetic wave frequency, in the LF range, the constellation points undergo limited clockwise rotation. This phenomenon can be attributed to the unique magnetic field propagation mechanism of LF EM waves in dynamic plasmas. This paper analyzes the mechanism of this specific parasitic modulation effect and discovers a sinusoidal transformation relationship between amplitude attenuation and phase shift. Meanwhile, the experimental and simulation results proved that the time-varying plasma could cause the parasitic modulation effect of LF EM wave, resulting in a limited clockwise rotation of orthogonal phase-shift keying constellation points, which is consistent with the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document serves as a preface to a special topic collection in the journal "Physics of Plasmas" that focuses on the study of relativistic plasma in supercritical fields. The collection includes papers from a mini-conference held at the 2022 meeting of the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics. The objective of the mini-conference was to bring together researchers from different physics communities to address the physics of matter in extreme astrophysical objects and high-power laser systems. The papers in the collection cover topics such as electron-positron pair production, extreme astrophysics, radiation reaction, and vacuum physics. The mini-conference aimed to facilitate knowledge exchange and inspire future research in this emerging field of plasma physics. The authors of this document, Alec G. R. Thomas and Stepan S. Bulanov, declare that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose and were supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Offices of High Energy Physics and Fusion Energy Sciences. [Extracted from the article]

Low magnetic field density peak (LFP) is a typical nonlinear phenomenon in helicon wave discharge, which is characterized by the nonlinear increase in electron density with the magnetic field in lower magnetic fields. In this paper, the characteristics and generation mechanism of LFPs of argon helicon wave plasma excited by m = 0 single-loop antenna are studied by experiment and numerical simulation. Experimental results show that plasma density shows two peaks at increasing magnetic field in the range of 0–100 G. The first peak appears around 10 G, and the second one appears between 30 and 50 G. The peak density is related to gas pressure, radio frequency power, and tube dimension. From B-dot measurement, there exists obvious helicon wave structure in plasma at field strength around the LFP, with component of standing wave. Theoretical analysis demonstrated that the first density peak occurs on the demarcation line in density-magnetic field map where the H-wave limited by radial boundary condition begins to propagate, while the second peak is due to the fact that the axial wavenumber of H-wave decreases gradually with the increased magnetic field and the heating effect by standing wave resonance coupling is weakened above a critical magnetic field, leading to a sudden decrease in plasma density. Simulation by HELIC code shows that the change of radial distribution of power deposition reflects the conversion of heating mechanism from single TG-wave mode to H-TG wave coupled mode heating in low magnetic fields. The axial wavenumber with the maximum absorbed power decreases with the increased magnetic field, corresponding to the change of wave structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Force-free current sheets, characterized by field-aligned electric currents and approximately uniform plasma pressures, have been widely observed in the planetary magnetosphere and throughout the heliosphere. Recent observations of force-free current sheets have clearly shown the presence of anisotropic electron distributions with different temperatures perpendicular and parallel to the local magnetic field. In most of the kinetic models for one-dimensional, force-free current sheets, however, the electron distributions are nearly isotropic, which necessitates the construction of new models accounting for the electron temperature anisotropy. In this paper, we develop a model for anisotropic force-free current sheets, by incorporating the magnetic moment as an additional invariant of motion into the nearly isotropic electron distribution function of a previous model. Despite the different electron distributions, the electromagnetic profiles of the new model are often close to those in the nearly isotropic model. The applicability of our model is then validated via a comparison to a typical force-free current sheet in the Jovian magnetodisk, which shows good agreement between the model and the observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the ignition process of the plasma scalpel is characterized by means of numerical simulation, shadowgraphy, and voltage–current measurements. The ignition process involves two phases: the pre-breakdown phase and the breakdown phase. Our study shows that in the pre-breakdown phase, the vapor layer is first generated around the corners of the active electrode and then gradually extends to cover the entire active electrode. Once the active electrode is fully covered by the vapor layer, the electric field reaches a maximum of 7.3 × 106 V m−1, which can cause discharge in the vapor layer. At this moment, the thickness of the vapor layer is approximately 100 μm. In the breakdown phase, the maximum electron density reaches 1018–1019 m−3. The plasma dissipates about 60% of the total power which is up to 125 W, thus enabling efficient cutting. In addition, we simulate the discharge characteristics of cutting various biological tissues. The results show that under the same voltage level, the higher the conductivity of biological tissues, the greater the discharge current. The biological tissues act as ballast resistors in equivalent circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a transmission model of power-exponential Airy vortex beams in plasma turbulence is established based on the random phase screen theory, and the information transmission characteristics of Airy vortex beams are compared under the OOK, BPSK, and DPSK modulation modes in free-space optical communication systems. Bit error rates (BERs) were calculated for different power indices (n), undulation variances (<Δn2>), transmission distances, and anisotropy parameters. In addition, the orbital angular momentum multiplexing of Airy vortex beams in the Line-of-Sight multiple input multiple output system under a plasma turbulence environment is investigated. The spectral efficiency (SE) is analyzed for different signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and radii of the emitting surface, and the effects of the variation in the system's numerical aperture and the power exponent on the SE and the effective degrees of freedom in space are analyzed. The results show that the Airy beam has better turbulence resistance than the Laguerre–Gaussian beam. The power-exponential Airy beam has better transmission performance than the conventional Airy beam. By increasing the anisotropy parameter, the BER of the system decreases. When the <Δn2> and the transmission distance increase, the BER increases. Increasing the SNR, the radius of the launching surface and the choice of power-exponential Airy beams can improve the channel capacity. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the problem of optical signal propagation in plasma turbulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactions of floating potential on metal and dielectric targets with He atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) were studied in this paper. The APPJ is generated in a needle-ring corona-dielectric barrier discharge configuration, driven by a sinusoidal voltage. The characteristics of APPJ were assessed through electrical and optical examinations, and the time-average electrostatic voltage on the targets was measured using both contact and non-contact electrostatic voltmeters. It was found that both metal and dielectric targets can promote the jet development and speed up the jet velocity. During the negative half-cycle, the "plasma cluster" propagates from the target toward the ground electrode and then "merges" with the forward plasma jet, leading to a reversed development of jet. The two targets follow a similar pattern on the surface electrostatic voltage, that is, initially in a positive polarity whose amplitude first increases and then decreases and transits to negative polarity with an increase in the applied voltage. But there are also some minor differences between the two targets, e.g., the metallic target can change the discharge pattern and reduces the discharge current under certain conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has established a relatively comprehensive model for ultra-low frequency (ULF) current induced by thermal pressure gradients and its propagation. In the ULF current excitation model, we decomposed the current into a constant term unaffected by altitude and a product with a function significantly influenced by altitude. Combining this with the EISCAT background, we determined that for modulation frequencies below 5 Hz, the optimal height for ULF current excitation corresponds to the critical frequency height. We calculated the ionospheric currents at heating altitudes of 332 km for modulation frequencies of 5 Hz; the corresponding maximum currents were 1.03 × 10−10 A·m−2. By incorporating the current into the ULF waves propagation model based on magnetoionic theory, we found that the electromagnetic field energy is mainly concentrated in the horizontal direction, indicating that the energy primarily propagates outward through magnetosonic waves. The dominant components are the electric field component Ey and the magnetic field component Bz, whose maximum values reached 1.1 μV·m−1 and 1.5 pT. Unfortunately, magnetosonic waves cannot propagate downward due to the sharp variation in the real part of the refractive index between 200 and 300 km. However, the shear Alfvén waves component By can propagate downward, and there is still an intensity of approximately 0.1 pT at the bottom of the ionosphere, which is because the refractive index of shear Alfvén waves is most uniform in the parallel magnetic field direction, allowing By to propagate parallel to the magnetic field effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The radiation pressure and strong magnetic fields are prominent in the structures of Rayleigh–Taylor (R–T) instability in the interior of white dwarfs. This paper investigates the radiation pressure-driven R–T instability in a compressible and magnetized ultra-relativistic degenerate strongly coupled plasma. The equation of state has been derived for such systems incorporating ultra-relativistic degenerate electrons with their radiation pressure and ion gas compressibility. The dispersion relation of the density gradients driven R–T instability is analyzed using the generalized hydrodynamic fluid model in the strongly coupled and weakly coupled limits. It is observed that the R–T instability criterion has been modified significantly due to radiation pressure, ion gas compressibility and degeneracy parameters. In the kinetic limit, the instability region is shorter than the hydrodynamic limit due to the dominance of plasma frequency over the viscoelastic relaxation frequency. The outcomes are explored in analyzing the development of R–T instability in the strongly magnetized carbon–oxygen white dwarfs. The radiation pressure, electron temperature and ion density strongly suppress the growth rate of the R–T instability in the interior of white dwarfs. The strong magnetic fields introduce asymmetry to the system by destabilizing the R–T unstable modes. The present results are also useful for understanding the R–T instability in the star formation and dense plasmas in inertial confinement fusion in some limiting cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the filamentary structure of the pinched column in a smaller plasma focus device filled with deuterium. The deflections were observed using schlieren and differential interferometry techniques. The observed filaments have a transverse diameter of 40–200 μm, which could be interpreted based on the electric current hypothesis as local concentrations of electric current. The evolution of filaments was compared with global structures recorded by extra ultraviolet frames. These results provide a basis for considering the possibility of a filamentary composition of the poloidal current in compact structures. The model of filaments with a helical shape of electrical current may be able to explain the central narrow and dense cord in the axis of the column, the different lifetimes of the structures, and the submillimeter sources of fast electrons and ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-beta plasma equilibria are realized in a number of physical systems, from planetary magnetospheres, sunspots, and magnetic holes to fusion laboratory experiments. When plasma pressure becomes large enough to completely expel the magnetic field from its volume, the particle trajectories cannot be considered any more as circular gyro-orbits, and plasma pressure ceases to be gyrotropic. These non-gyrotropic effects require kinetic description and are actively studied for a long time in the magnetic reconnection problem. In this paper, we will show that non-gyrotropy of plasma pressure makes it possible to markedly exceed the limit β = 1 dictated by the magnetohydrodynamics for finite-size plasmas, which may be attractive for some fusion schemes such as mirror and cusp configurations. As a first step, we study how these effects manifest themselves in a simple classical problem of confining a cylindrical plasma column by a uniform vacuum magnetic field. Using particle-in-cell simulations, we show that the equilibrium of the diamagnetic bubble type with zero internal magnetic field is formed with an electron-produced current layer of sub-ion scale and found that the gas-kinetic pressure of the central plasma exceeds the pressure of the vacuum magnetic field by 15%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is devoted to the characterization of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) tearing modes causing plasma–wall interaction (PWI) in the Reversed-Field eXperiment (RFX-mod) reversed-field pinch (RFP) device. We study an example of a magnetic reconnection event in a high plasma current discharge. The PWI is measured via a fast camera looking at the graphite-covered inner wall, showing two separated footprints of neutral carbon radiation. A first, simple analysis shows that the phase-locking of m = 1 tearing modes is the principal cause of enhanced PWI, as it is well documented in literature. Many modes contribute to the phase-locking, actually more than those measured with the magnetic sensors. A more refined analysis is based on calculation of the Connection Length to the wall and of the loss time of Maxwellian ions via the Hamiltonian guiding center code Orbit. This analysis confirms the importance of the m = 1 phase-locking as a loss channel of high-energy particles, which is the mechanism that dominates the PWI pattern, but an additional role of the m = 0 , n = 7 mode is highlighted, which is a new result for the RFP. The PWI mediated by the m = 0 islands is milder, which is a good outlook for the RFX-mod2 upgraded device, currently in the assembly phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the process of divertor detachment and the associated complex interplay of plasma dynamics and atomic physics processes is of utmost importance for future fusion reactors. While simplified analytical models exist to interpret the general features of detachment, they are limited in their predictive power, and complex two-dimensional (2D) or even three-dimensional (3D) codes are generally required to provide a self-consistent picture of the divertor. As an intermediate step, one-dimensional (1D) models of the scrape-off layer (SOL) can be particularly insightful as the dynamics are greatly simplified, while still self-consistently including various source and sink terms at play, as well as additional important effects such as flows. These codes can be used to shed light on the physics at play, to perform fast parameter scans, or to interpret experiments. In this paper, we introduce the SPLEND1D (Simulator of PLasma ENabling Detachment in 1D) code: a fast and versatile 1D SOL model. We present in detail the model that is implemented in SPLEND1D. We then employ the code to explore various elements of detachment physics for parameters typical of the Tokamak à Configuration Variable, including the atomic physics and other processes behind power and momentum losses, and explore the various hypotheses and free parameters of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gridless inductive output tubes (IOTs) offer compact size and high-power amplification at sub-GHz frequencies. Minimizing cavity dimensions in the interest of compactness leads to smaller gaps, which may cause multipactor discharge under high-power operating conditions. The uncontrolled electron growth resulting from multipactor breakdown can lead to undesired effects including surface damage and system failure. This paper performs a parallel-plate multipactor analysis for a high-Q, L-shaped, aluminum, 431 MHz cavity designed for a gridless IOT to be operated in the MW-power regime. The cavity gap is 27 mm, and diameter is 339 mm. Multipactor susceptibility regions are calculated for non-zero emission energy, half-cycle, and non-half-cycle multipactor using a semi-analytic approach and a standard aluminum secondary electron yield (SEY) curve. The analytical results are validated with particle-in-cell simulation in CST Studio. Simulation results show a voltage range of 6.4–19 kV, compared to the analytically calculated values of 8.2 and 18.3 kV for the lower and upper bounds, respectively. Fluorocarbon coating as a means to reduce secondary electron emission is simulated, which shows 46% reduction in peak particle population with an 11.2 nm PTFE coating, with further reduction as coating thickness increases. The results show that the L-shaped cavity is a suitable choice for this IOT design as it does not exhibit single-surface multipactor and will not develop two-surface multipactor at full-power operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plasma jet wind tunnel, as a ground simulation device for studying the electromagnetic properties of near-space vehicle sheaths, can help people conduct several studies, such as communications and electronic parameter diagnostics. The plasma produced by a plasma generator has time-dependent variations due to the influence of power supply oscillations, turbulence, and other aspects of the device. To accurately define the experimental state of plasma, it is necessary to carefully analyze the three-dimensional (3D) time-varying characteristics of the plasma jet accurately since the distribution is non-uniform. This paper uses volume tomography technology to reconstruct the time series of the 3D emission field of the plasma jet with high-speed cameras. Then, the time–frequency characteristics, overall instability of the emission intensity, central axis position, and shape of the plasma jet are analyzed. The following characteristics are mainly observed: First, the plasma generator ejects plasma intermittently, which then spirals forward away from the nozzle. Second, the intensity, the radius of central axis movement, and the shape of the plasma jet vary with time at the same low frequency. The magnitude of this frequency is mainly related to the rate of change of the jet's air pressure difference with the vacuum chamber. Third, the overall instability of the plasma jet increases along the axial direction away from the nozzle and radially away from the center of the jet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the laser wakefield accelerators, the energy transfer efficiency from the laser to the electron beam and the energy spread of the electron beam are parameters of contradiction, which people have not been able to improve simultaneously for a long time. To generate quasi-monoenergetic electron beams, the energy transfer efficiencies are up to the 1% level, while for 10% or higher energy transfer efficiencies, the electron spectra are broad in general. In the series of particle-in-cell simulations shown in this paper, we observe the simultaneous improvement of these two parameters by the self-injection mechanism in uniform plasma using the plasma telescope configuration [Zeng et al., Phys. Plasmas 27, 023109 (2020)]. The energy transfer efficiency is increased to more than 10%, and the energy spread of the electron beam is less than 5%. We also show the possibility to produce an electron beam with the energy of 1.871 GeV, the charge of 2.13 nC, and the energy spread of 2.5% by a 30 J laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Well over 100 diagnostics can operate on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) as a result of several decades of development on NIF, and before that on Nova, OMEGA, and earlier LLNL lasers. A subset of these have guided the approach to achieving ignition on the NIF in 2022 [H. Abu-Shawareb et al. (Indirect Drive ICF Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 129(7), 075001 (2022)]. Achieving ignition on NIF has required many types of experiments with this core set of diagnostics, some constraining known unknowns and some revealing surprises—arguably unknown unknowns. Early design work realized that the extreme precision required for ignition on NIF would require fine-tuning by experiment, that is, measuring and adjusting known unknowns. Many examples are given where the use of the core set of ignition diagnostics in experimental arrangements called platforms demonstrated control of the key theoretical parameters defined as shape, adiabat, velocity, and mix. The direction of the adjustments to input conditions is found either by trend analysis or, in many cases, by observing from the diagnostic data the direction to make an adjustment. In addition, diagnostics have revealed some unexpected or neglected known issues, which degrade performance, or unexpected issues, unknown unknowns. Some of these factors had been previously considered, but underestimated or difficult to calculate at the time. The overall methodology can be described as a variant of Popper's falsifiability philosophy [K. Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery (Hutchinson, 1974)]. This paper summarizes the role of ignition diagnostics in terms of falsification or validation of theory or experimental setup as well as uncovering unexpected issues. The journey to ignition started in the seventies with a 1-µm wavelength laser producing disastrous results. Diagnostics have guided us to the recent multi-decadal goal of demonstrating ignition and burn in the laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional (3D) magnetic nulls are abundant in the solar atmosphere, as has been firmly established through contemporary observations. They are established to be important magnetic structures in, for example, jets and circular ribbon flares. Although simulations and extrapolations support this, the mechanisms behind 3D null generation remain an open question. Recent magnetohydrodynamic simulations demonstrated magnetic reconnections to be responsible for both generating and annihilating 3D nulls. However, these simulations began with initial magnetic fields already supporting preexisting nulls, raising the question of whether magnetic reconnection can create nulls in fields initially devoid of them. Previously, this question was briefly explored in a simulation with an initial chaotic magnetic field. However, the study failed to precisely identify locations, topological degrees, and natures (spiral or radial) of nulls, and it approximated magnetic reconnection without tracking the magnetic field lines in time. In this paper, these findings are revisited in light of recent advancements and tools used to locate and trace nulls, along with the tracing of field lines, through which the concept of generation/annihilation of 3D nulls from chaotic fields is established in a precise manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Paper I [Garrigues et al., Phys. Plasmas 31, 073907 (2024)], we have extended the sparse PIC approach already used in the literature with the offset scheme to reduce the grid-based error. In this study, we demonstrate the ability of the offset sparse PIC algorithm to model partially magnetized low-temperature plasmas by reducing the grid-based error. In the context of multi-cusp magnetic field configurations, the offset scheme reduces the error of the current collected at the walls to less than 5 % for more of the plasma conditions encountered in ion source applications. The formation of a double layer in the sheath region is also captured. In the context of the electron drift instability that occurs in the Hall thruster, the plasma properties as well as the ion velocity distribution function can be retrieved with a high enough precision without considering an initial regular grid with a smaller mesh resolution. The results also highlight the advantage of combining the electric potential at the nodes of the regular grid instead of directly combining the electric field from the component grids. Compared to the regular PIC algorithm, the typical speed-up factor is about three for a number of mesh nodes of 256 2 and five for 512 2 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a quasi-steady-state analytical model of the plasma conduction region of a spherical target, and the model is used to analyze the factors that influence the mass ablation rate during laser ablation. Unlike in the case of planar geometry, the mass ablation rate changes as the distance to the ablation front increases. For the plasma in the heat-conduction region of the spherical target under certain conditions, the new analytical model provides relevant parameters such as the density, pressure, and sound velocity, and its results align with those from one-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. The model and results presented here are valuable resources for investigating mass ablation rates in laser fusion processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of plasmonic optical tweezers based on metal nanostructure to stably trap and dynamically manipulate nanoscale objects at low laser power has been widely used in the fields of nanotechnology and life sciences. In particular, their plasmonic nanocavity structure can improve the local field intensity and trap depth by confining electromagnetic fields to subwavelength volumes. In this paper, the R6G dye molecules with 10−6 M were successfully trapped by using the Ag@Polydimethylsiloxane nanocavity array structure, and a R6G micro-ring was formed under the combined action of plasmonic optical force and thermophoresis. Subsequently, the theoretical investigation revealed that the trapping performance can be flexibly adjusted by changing the structural parameters of the conical nanocavity unit, and it can provide a stable potential well for polystyrene particles of RNP = 14 nm when the cavity depth is 140 nm. In addition, it is found that multiple trapping sites can be activated simultaneously in the laser irradiation area by investigating the trapping properties of the hexagonal conical nanocavity array structure. This multi-site stable trapping platform makes it possible to analyze multiple target particles contemporaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of high-energy sources, namely, high-energy plasma pulses and high-energy electron beam pulses, on materials in the form of layer through separate and combined exposures. Experimental setups utilizing a Rod Plasma Injector (RPI) and an electron gun were employed for irradiation tests. The studies involved pre- and post-treatment analysis of morphology, chemical, and phase composition using scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction measurements. Surface modifications under different exposure conditions were characterized, revealing that both sources induced significant alterations in surface composition and crystal structure. These interactions result in a more uniform chemical composition, reduced surface roughness, and a shift from an amorphous phase to a nanocrystalline or amorphous-nanocrystalline state. The results underscore the potential of high-energy sources for efficient surface engineering, offering opportunities for customized material surface modifications through meticulous adjustment of these generation parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the conditions leading to stratification in a quasineutral argon positive column plasma, focusing on a pressure-column radius product, p R , in the range 0.1–10 Torr cm neglecting Coulomb collisions and electron–ion recombination. We achieve this by linearizing the electron transport equations while incorporating metastable ionization. Dispersion relations indicate that positive column stratification may result from a thermoelectric transport term in the electron energy equation, particularly the density gradient term in the energy flux related to the Dufour effect, or from the non-linearity of ionization due to metastable ionization. The present study shows that for small values of the p R product (less than about 0.3–0.5 Torr cm), the plasma is maintained by direct ionization and the stratification of the positive column is entirely due to the thermoelectric term of the electron energy equation. For larger p R products, the reduced electric field decreases due to lower charged particle losses to the wall, and the plasma is maintained by stepwise and associative ionization of metastable atoms. The dispersion relations show that the growth of instabilities above 0.3–0.5 Torr cm is still linked to the thermoelectric coefficient but that the presence of metastable atoms is necessary for the development of instabilities. The non-linearity of the metastable density with the electron density is not the cause of the stratification in this range of p R product, contrary to previous claims. Experiments and particle simulations presented in Paper II [Dosbolayev et al., Phys. Plasmas 13, 085015 (2024)] are qualitatively consistent with the theory presented in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initial wire resistance is an important parameter in an underwater electrical wire explosion because it directly affects the discharge characteristics of the circuit and indirectly affects the explosion and shock-wave generation. This paper presents a study on how the initial resistance affects electrical and shock-wave characteristics of underwater electrical explosions of aluminum wires with an initial energy storage of ∼53.5 kJ under the optimal mode. Load voltage, circuit current, and shock-wave pressure were recorded and analyzed. The experimental results show that the average of the discharge channel resistance and the total energy deposition all increase with the initial resistance. In addition, there is no simple functional relationship between the energy deposition during the phase transition process and the initial resistance, while the energy deposition during the plasma growth process increases with the initial resistance. As for shock waves at ∼33 cm, it is observed that when the initial resistance increases from 674.82 to 1581.60 μ Ω , the peak pressure, energy density, and impulse increase from 12.65 MPa, 2.67 kJ/m2, and 964.51 Pa s to 42.37 MPa, 18.21 kJ/m2, and 1940.42 Pa s, respectively. In other words, for the optimal mode, an underwater electrical explosion with thinner and longer wire is more conducive to generating strong shock waves in the far-field regime. These results should help select loads for underwater electrical wire explosions in engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the multipath propagation phase shift of electromagnetic wave in cylindrical plasma, a method to obtain the radial electron density distribution of non-uniform cylindrical plasma is proposed in this paper. Focused lens antennas are used in multipath transmission distribution diagnosis (MTDD), where the propagation area in the plasma is approximately the size of the focal spot. The equivalent propagation thickness at each layer can be calculated for each path based on the propagation region and layer thickness. Combining with Fermat's shortest wavelength principle, electromagnetic waves propagate in a straight line between different layers. The phase shift caused by the propagation of electromagnetic waves in each layer, starting from the outermost layer, can obtain layer by layer electron density. To validate the MTDD method, multipath transmission propagation phase shift was simulated in CST, and the electron density distribution was obtained, which has a good agreement with the preset electron density. In addition, the MTDD method was applied to inductively coupled plasma, and the diagnostic results showed high agreement with the Langmuir probe results. The proposed MTDD method has higher spatial resolution than the transmission diagnosis method and can provide more precise plasma parameter information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze the extended model of the dynamics of a thin plasma layer under the influence of a short laser pulse with a constant magnetic field. The model predictions show good correspondence to the single and multi-particle particle-in-cell simulations. It is also demonstrated that polarization of the attosecond extreme ultraviolet radiation generated by a short intense laser pulse interacting with a thin foil could be tuned using an external magnetic field via the Faraday effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A crucial part of a gyroklystron is an electron beam. For the efficient operation of the gyroklystron, effective interaction between the radio frequency wave and the electron beam is necessary. Although the manufacturing and assembly of the gyroklystron are complicated, during the assembly process of various components of the gyroklystron, there is some possibility that the components may be misaligned from their actual positions. The operation of a gyroklystron is very sensitive if its components are misaligned. Electron beam misalignment is one type of such misalignment. This paper studies the effect of an off-axis electron beam on gyroklystron performance. Due to misalignment, the electron beam radius will vary in its position as the electron beam gyrates. First, the nonlinear single-mode analysis describing the beam–wave interaction process within the gyroklystron amplifier is discussed. As reported in the literature, an experimental, two-cavity 35 GHz fundamental harmonic gyroklystron amplifier has been used to conduct the present study. The results obtained from the analytically developed approach are benchmarked by the results of the experimental device. Subsequently, the analysis developed has been extended to investigate the impact of the misaligned electron beam on the gyroklystron performance characteristics. The study shows that efficiency, output power and gain decrease with misalignment, whereas bandwidth does not change due to such misalignments. These findings demonstrate the critical role that the misaligned electron beam plays in the operation of a gyroklystron amplifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve the objectives of compactness and miniaturization in high-power microwave systems, along with reducing system energy consumption, this paper presents a design of a compact coaxial distributed intense relativistic electron beam (IREB) focusing system based on the transit time oscillator. The design methodology integrates theoretical analysis with a 2.5-dimensional particle simulation method. The entire IREB focusing system is composed of three sets of distributed magnetic rings and front-end focusing structures. The layout of this magnetic system is optimized based on periodic permanent magnets, leading to the formation of a quasi-trapezoidal wave magnetic field configuration. This optimization reduces the required number of magnetic rings while ensuring the efficient transmission of the IREB. To prevent the breakdown of the loaded magnetic rings and to optimize the radial electric field in the diode region, an additional front-end focusing structure was added. Based on the aforementioned structural configuration, a 100% electron beam transmission rate was achieved within a 150 mm range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents initial findings from the recently deployed Kr multi-monochromatic x-ray imager (Kr MMI) at the Omega laser facility. The experiment focuses on exploring implosion dynamics in exploding pusher capsules at three distinct initial gas fill densities. Utilizing time-gated and spatially integrated measurements, core size, electron temperature ( T e ), and electron densities ( n e ) are extracted through the analysis of the spectral region encompassing the Kr He α and its satellite lines. A comprehensive spectral database, incorporating atomic kinetics, spectroscopic-quality radiation transport, and Stark broadened line shapes, has been developed for rigorous data analysis. These measurements underscore the utility of the new Kr MMI instrument, which, combined with sophisticated analysis techniques, enables the diagnosis of plasma conditions at T e > 2000 eV, thereby extending the capabilities beyond the prior Ar MMI design. This is an important stepping stone for achieving time-gated and space-resolved diagnostics of electron temperature, electron density, and heat transport in high temperature implosion cores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The equilibrium potential structure in the scrape-off layer (SOL) of the field-reversed configuration (FRC) can be affected by the penetration of edge biasing applied at the divertor ends. The primary focus of the paper is to establish a formulation that accurately captures both parallel and radial variations of the two-dimensional (2D) potential in SOL. The formulation mainly describes a quasi-neutral plasma with a logical sheath boundary. A full-f gyrokinetic ion model and a massless electron model are implemented in the GTC-X code to solve for the self-consistent equilibrium potential, given fixed radial potential profiles at the boundaries. The first essential point of this 2D model lies in its ability to couple radial and parallel dynamics stemming from resistive currents and drag force on ions. The model successfully recovers the fluid force balance and continuity equations. These collisional effects on 2D potential mainly appear through the density profile changes, modifying the potential through electron pressure gradient. This means an accurate prescription of electron density and temperature profiles is important in predicting the potential structure in the FRC SOL. The Debye sheath potential and the potential profiles applied at the boundaries can be additional factors contributing to the 2D variations in SOL. This comprehensive full-f scheme holds promise for future investigations into turbulent transport in the presence of the self-consistent 2D potential together with the non-Maxwellian distributions and open boundary conditions in the FRC SOL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shocks are often invoked as heating mechanisms in astrophysical systems, with both adiabatic compression and dissipative heating that leading to the increase in temperature. While shocks are reasonably well understood for ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) systems, in many astrophysical plasmas, radiation is an important phenomena, which can allow energy to leave the system. As such, energy becomes non-conservative, which can fundamentally change the behavior of shocks. The energy emitted through optically thin radiation post-shock can exceed the thermal energy increase, resulting in shocks that reduce the temperature of the medium, i.e., cooling shocks that have a net decrease in temperature across the interface. In this paper, semi-analytical solutions for radiative shocks are derived to demonstrate that both cooling (temperature decreasing) and heating (temperature increasing) shock solutions are possible across the whole temperature range in optically thin radiative MHD. Numerical simulations of magnetic reconnection for solar-like temperatures and plasma-β with optically thin radiative losses also yield both heating and cooling shocks in roughly equal abundances. The detected cooling shocks feature a significantly lower pressure jump across the shock than their heating counterparts. The compression at the shock front leads to locally enhanced radiative losses, resulting in significant cooling within a few grid cells in the upstream and downstream directions. The presence of temperature-reducing (cooling) shocks is critical in determining the thermal evolution, and heating or cooling, across a wealth of radiative astrophysical plasmas including magnetic reconnection in the solar corona. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the process of Alfvén-fast wave mode coupling, through numerical simulation. We model the process using the ideal, linear magnetohydrodynamic equations on a three-dimensional Cartesian grid; assuming the cold plasma limit, β ≪ 1. We initialize the simulation with a cylindrical Alfvén wave pulse (comprising an azimuthal magnetic field and velocity perturbations) propagating along a uniform magnetic field. The wave starts in a region where the density is uniform. As it propagates, part of the Alfvén wave encounters a change in density, before emerging into a second uniform region. We introduce the natural Helmholtz Hodge decomposition as a method to identify the properties of the Alfvén wave perturbations at the end of the simulation. Our results show that the Alfvén wave propagates efficiently through the non-uniform region, with the wave pulse's final structure sharing strong characteristics of the initial wave pulse structure. More than 69 % of the initial energy is carried by the transmitted Alfvén wave. Alfvén-fast wave coupling has potential applications in planetary magnetospheres, such as in the Io-Jupiter Alfvén wave interaction, and the solar corona. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a moderately intense, few-picosecond-long laser pulse ionizes gas to produce an underdense plasma column, a linear relativistic plasma wave or wake can be excited by the self-modulation instability that may prove useful for multi-bunch acceleration of externally injected electrons or positrons to high energies in a short distance. At the same time, due to the anisotropic temperature distributions of the ionized plasma electrons, the Weibel instability can self-generate magnetic fields throughout such a plasma on a few picoseconds timescale that can persist even longer than the lifetime of the wake. In the present paper, we first show using simulations that both these effects do indeed co-exist in space and time in the plasma. Using our simulations, we make preliminary estimates of the contribution to the transverse emittance growth of an externally injected beam due to the Weibel magnetic fields in a few-millimeter-long plasma. We then present the results of an experiment that has allowed us to measure the spatiotemporal evolution of the magnetic fields using an ultrashort relativistic electron probe beam. Both the topology and the lifetime of the Weibel instability induced magnetic fields in the experiment are in reasonable agreement with the fields induced by the Weibel instability in the simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When an external electric field appears in a homogeneous plasma, ions move into regions where their electrostatic energy is lower. Simultaneously, forces arise that counteract this effect, causing the plasma to reach equilibrium when the field disappears completely. In collisional plasma, the resulting charge inhomogeneities decrease both Coulomb energy and entropy. Randomly induced diffusion flows tend to hinder their growth, minimizing free energy at any point. Accordingly, in the Debye–Hückel theory, the external field strength decreases exponentially with distance within the plasma. In a collisionless plasma, an antiscreening mechanism operates differently. Each ion moves in a self-consistent field along distinct trajectories, following classical dynamics laws. An external field bends these trajectories, bringing ions into regions where their Coulomb energy is lower. The antiscreening mechanism occurs when ions accelerate into potential wells, increasing the distances between them along their trajectories and decreasing their number densities along these paths. The law of energy conservation for any single ion governs this principally nonlocal process, and the dependence of field strength on distance is not necessarily exponential. This paper demonstrates that the Debye–Hückel theory should not be used to describe the charge density distribution within an unrestricted stream of collisionless plasma, such as the solar wind. It also analyzes non-exponential solutions of the Poisson equation for plasma sheaths above flat surfaces, from which such a flow takes off and on which it falls, obtained in quadratures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze theoretically the low-threshold parametric decay instability (PDI) that can be excited at the tokamak à configuration variable (TCV tokamak, Lausanne, Switzerland) during X2 electron cyclotron resonance heating experiments producing a two-dimensionally localized upper hybrid (UH) wave and a daughter extraordinary wave running from the decay layer outward to the plasma edge. The primary instability is then saturated due to the cascade of secondary decays into two-dimensionally localized UH and ion Bernstein waves. The level of plasma microwave emission in the frequency range substantially below half the pump wave frequency and of anomalous power losses of the pump are predicted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A decades-long quest to achieve fusion energy target gain and ignition in a controlled laboratory experiment, dating back to 1962, has been realized at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) on December 5, 2022 [Abu-Shawareb et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 065102 (2024)] where an imploded pellet of deuterium and tritium (DT) fuel generated more fusion energy (3.15 MJ) than laser energy incident on the target (2.05 MJ). In these experiments, laser beams incident on the inside of a cylindrical can (Hohlraum) generate an intense ∼ 3 × 106 million degree x-ray radiation bath that is used to spherically implode ∼ 2 mm diameter pellets containing frozen deuterium and tritium. The maximum fusion energy produced in this configuration to date is 3.88 MJ using 2.05 MJ of incident laser energy and 5.2 MJ using 2.2 MJ of incident laser energy, producing a new record target gain of ∼ 2.4×. This paper describes the physics (target and laser) design of this platform and follow-on experiments that show increased performance. We show robust megajoule fusion energy output using this design as well as explore design modification using radiation hydrodynamic simulations benchmarked against experimental data, which can further improve the performance of this platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lightning is a major cause of tripping faults in overhead transmission lines. Multi-chamber lightning arresters are widely used to protect high-voltage lines from lightning because of their reliable arc-quenching performance. This paper analyzes the development and quenching process of an arc after a lightning breakdown arrester and studies the quenching mechanism of a multi-chamber arc structure based on its structural characteristics. We built an impulse-current test platform and carried out an impulse-current test for the multi-chamber arrester. The arc motion was captured by a high-speed camera, and the height, speed, and temperature of the arc ejection were obtained by signal processing. The multi-chamber arrester structure is optimized by using the maximum arc ejection height and the maximum ejection speed as metrics to find the optimal combination of the quenching-hole diameter and depth and the gap distance of the multi-chamber structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aligning pedestal models and associated magnetohydrodynamic codes with experimental data is an important challenge in order to be able to generate predictions for future devices, e.g., ITER. Previous efforts to perform calibration of unknown model parameters have largely been a manual process. In this paper, we construct a framework for the automatic calibration of JOREK. More formally, we reformulate the calibration problem into a black-box optimization task, by defining a measure of the discrepancy between an experiment and a reference quantity. As this discrepancy relies on JOREK simulations, the objective becomes computationally intensive and, hence, we resort to batch Bayesian optimization methodology to allow for efficient, gradient-free optimization. We apply this methodology to two different test cases with different discrepancies and show that the calibration is achievable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was recently shown that the use of Coulomb logarithms appropriate for bremsstrahlung radiation (rather than transport processes) along with corrections for the Langdon effect and ion screening reproduced measurements of collisional absorption in well-characterized underdense plasmas [D. Turnbull et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 145103 (2023)]. However, it was recognized at the time that the use of the standard absorption-reduction factor from Langdon's seminal paper was inconsistent with the use of Coulomb logarithms that are thermally averaged over a Maxwellian electron-velocity distribution function. A more accurate approach would be to average over the expected super-Gaussian distribution function while accounting for the Gaunt factor's velocity dependence, which somewhat mitigates the Langdon effect; however, at that time, this theory matched the data less well. This conflict is now eliminated with the additional insight that the ionization state of our mid-Z ion species (when present) was lower than had been assumed, as evidenced by the Thomson-scattering data and time-dependent Cretin simulations. We are now able to show that an improved treatment of the Langdon effect provides the best match to data. Otherwise, the prior conclusions remain unchanged. We also show an example of the substantial expected impact to the absorption rate in calculations of indirect-drive hohlraums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]