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New plans for next-step experiments on a multiple-mirror confinement in GOL-3 are discussed. The proposed changes in the hardware configuration include separation of the existing GOL-3 device into two independent plasma facilities. The first device will continue research on physics of highly turbulent electron-beam-heated plasma. It will use the existing generator of the electron beam and a shortened part of the existing solenoid. The second device will be devoted to a new experimental program on studies of efficiency of multiple-mirror end sections that should decrease power and particle losses from the trap. Details of the physics and upgrade plans for the new device, tentatively named GOL-NB, are discussed.

Development of a new linear device for confinement of fusion plasmas is under way in the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Novosibirsk. The new device combines features of existing GOL-3 and GDT...

The paper summarizes recent advances in physics of multiple-mirror confinement. GOL-3 in Novosibirsk is the only existing large-scale device of this type. Achieved plasma parameters are: n ~ 1021 m...

The paper presents experimental investigations of plasma-surface interaction and materials behavior under plasma loads relevant to type I ITER ELMs. The experiments were performed with quasi-statio...

Investigation results for electromagnetic radiation emission induced by strong Langmuir turbulence driven by a microsecond relativistic electron beam are presented. The radiation is associated with...

The latest experimental campaign at the GOL-3 multiple-mirror trap was mainly aimed at features of heating and stability of the electron-beam-heated turbulent plasma. The discussed experiments feat...

The paper reviews recent experimental results from GOL-3. Currently efforts are focused on further development of a physical database for multiple-mirror confinement systems and also on an upgrade of plasma heating systems of GOL-3 device. In general, current GOL-3 parameters demonstrate good prospects of a multiple-mirror trap as a fusion reactor.

New operation regime with a high-mirror-ratio corrugation at first 2 meters of GOL-3 plasma was studied. Five corrugation periods of 44 cm length were created with mirror ratio R ≈ 2.7 by means of special configuration of a power feed of existing solenoid coils. First data on the plasma heating, confinement and features of neutron emission from the strongly corrugated plasma in the above conditions are presented.

First stage of neutral beam heating system was developed at the GOL-3 facility. Configuration of magnetic field and initial gas distribution were adopted for operation with NBI system. As a result the neutral beam with 0.5 MW power and 0.8 ms pulse duration was achieved and stable regimes suitable for beam injection experiments were found. The neutral beam system was used in first experiment as diagnostic tool for measuring the plasma density. Dynamics of plasma density and its radial distribution were studied in experiments.

Main results of researches on plasma heating and confinement of dense plasma in the multimirror trap GOL-3 are presented.Recently magnetic system of the facility was converted into completely multimirror one. This results in further improvement of energy confinement time of plasma with ion temperature {approx}1 keV. Collective plasma heating by {approx}120 kJ ({approx}8 {omega}s) relativistic electron beam results in T{sub e} {approx} 2 keV at {approx}10{sup 21} m{sup -3} density. High T{sub e} exists for {approx}10 {mu}s. To this time T{sub i} reaches {approx}2 keV. Ion temperature keeps at the high level during {approx}1 ms. The energy confinement time sufficiently increases and a value of n{tau}{sub E} = (1.5-3).10{sup 18} m{sup -3}s.

Study of a dense ({approx}10{sup 21} m{sup -3}) plasma heating by a relativistic electron beam and confinement of the plasma in multimirror magnetic field is carried out at the GOL-3 facility. The high-resolution spectral system in the visible region is used for investigation of plasma parameters.The analysis of the shape of D{sub {alpha}} spectral line shows that wings of this line are determined by the Doppler broadening from atoms being in the hot plasma core at high-temperature operation regime. A survey spectrometer with spatial and time resolution was used in addition to high-resolution spectrometer for detail study of this regime. Results of radial distribution measurements of D{sub {alpha}} line radiation show the presence of neutral deuterium in the hot plasma core. Ion temperature of the hot plasma achieves 2 keV.The evolution of radial distribution of D{sub {alpha}} line radiation, diagnostics features and results on ion temperature dynamics in the hot plasma core are presented in the paper.

Dense plasma heating by a relativistic electron beam and its confinement are studied in the multiple mirror trap GOL-3. Axial currents, which exist in the system, cause helical structure of the magnetic field. The safety factor q is shown to be below unity on the axis. Experimental data on the distribution and evolution of currents, structure of the magnetic field, and their influence on confinement and on MHD activity are discussed.

Magnetic activity of plasma during the injection of 2-8 MW non-relativistic electron beam of sub-millisecond duration in GOL-3 is studied.The main parameters of fluctuations of the magnetic field a...

First experimental results on microwave radiation at double plasma frequency from plasma heated by ~100 keV, 2-10 MW electron beam of ~100 μs duration in GOL-3 are presented. Measurements were done...

Experiments on plasma heating by a high power electron beam at the GOL-3 facility have shown, that ion temperature with a multiple mirror configuration of the magnetic field is much higher than for plasma heating in a simple solenoid. A new mechanism of fast collective heating of a plasma ions is suggested. The efficiency of the heating depends on local density of the beam electrons. In the corrugated magnetic field this creates a periodical longitudinal variation of plasma pressure during the beam injection. Then the pressure gradients result in plasma motion towards the midplane of each magnetic cell. Numerical simulations and special experiments demonstrate that fast thermalization of the energy of the directed plasma motion occurs. This mechanism requires about one ion-ion collision time that is much faster than usual electron-to-ion energy transfer time.

Recently high plasma parameters were reached in experiments on plasma heating in the multi-mirror open trap GOL-3. In these experiments deuterium plasma with density 10-10 cm in the 12-m trap with corrugated magnetic field of 4.8T/3.2T was heated by a relativistic electron beam of eU ≤ 0.8 MeV, I ≤ 20 kA, j ~ 1-2 kA/cm, pulse duration ~ 9 μs and angular spread θ ≤ 0.2 rad. The electron temperature Te ~ 1-4 keV and ion one to Ti ~ 1-2 keV were reached. After the beam pulse the electron temperature of the plasma quickly (~ 20 μs) decreased to ~100 eV. In turn, this leads to an increase in the rate of cooling of ions through the ion-electron collisions, which, together with particle losses determines the energy confinement time of plasma as 0.5-1 ms. To increase the plasma parameters a prolonged heating of the plasma by the electron beam is proposed. The paper considers basic physical phenomena in the beamplasma interaction and required parameters of the longpulse beam. A choice of long pulse beam parameters is based on the obtained experimental results and scalings. Then estimates of the expected plasma parameters under the influence of the new beam have been done.

Transient MHD activity in the multiple-mirror trap GOL-3 at the stage of plasma cooling after decay of the net current was studied. Such events are diagnosed as short bursts (generally shorter than...

Thomson scattering diagnostics has been updated to allow measurements at two instants of time for either of two spatial points in plasma during a single plasma discharge. Laser produces now two 15J...

The series of experiments on plasma heating by the electron beam of reduced diameter was carried out at the GOL-3 facility. To define the size of a high-temperature plasma region the imaging VUV sp...

The paper presents new experimental results from the GOL-3 facility on stabilization of some beam instability modes by controlled conditions at an exit beam receiver. In the experiments the space n...

This paper presents prospect of now developed new 2 MW neutral beam injection system on GOL-3 facility. It discusses results of numerical simulation based on data from experiments on GOL-3. Vacuum ...

Boreskov Institute of Catalysis, 5 Lavrentjev Avenue, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia e-mail: A.A.Shoshin@inp.nsk.su The studies of exposing of targets by hot-electron plasma exhaust from the multi-mirror trap GOL-3 are carried out. The results of Raman and SEM studies of surface modification of carbon materials with different ordering range of sp2 fraction (different graphite and glassy carbon) exposed by pulsed hot hydrogen plasma with energy density up to 8 MJ/m

Transverse losses from hot dense plasma were studied on the GOL-3 facility. Concentration of impurities, effective charge of ions in plasma, line radiation power and charge exchange loses were found from spectroscopic measurements in VUV and visible spectral regions. Estimation of effective charge of ion required for comparison of measurements and predictions of global confinement time was derived from the measurements of impurities concentration.

This contribution presents recent results of pellet technologies development for plasma fuelling in magnetic confinement machines with open or closed magnetic configuration. The current status of ITV7 pellet injector for GOL3 multimirror linear machine, PGS2.2 pellet guide system of ITV4 in-situ pellet injector for TUMAN-3M tokamak and ITV5 centrifuge pellet injector for Globus-M spherical tokamak is reported. New results on modeling of tangential pellet injection into TUMAN-3M tokamak are discussed as well.

Recently GOL-3 has been reconfigured to a multimirror trap with improved confinement and high ion temperature. A dense plasma is created with a life time in the millisecond range. BTI neutron bubbl...