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A middle-sensitivity scintillating fiber detector (hereafter middle Sci-Fi detector) that works at a deuterium-tritium neutron flux of ~105-107 cm−2s−1 was utilized to measure secondary deuterium-tritium neutron emission rates with high temporal resolution at a total neutron emission rate of 1013 to 1015 n/s, where strong magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities were observed in the large helical device deuterium plasma experiments. The gain and angular characteristics of the middle Sci-Fi detector were evaluated in an accelerator-based deuterium-tritium neutron source in the intense 14 MeV neutron source facility at Osaka University. Observation of 1 MeV triton transport due to MHD instability was performed by a middle Sci-Fi detector whose deuterium-tritium neutron counting rate was approximately 20 times higher than that of the conventional Sci-Fi detector. Fusion-born triton transport due to energetic-particle-driven MHD instability was observed using the middle Sci-Fi detector due to its high detection efficiency and high discrimination ability of deuterium-tritium neutrons from the sea of deuterium-deuterium neutrons.

We demonstrate that, due to nonlinear interactions, the orbital angular momentum in a multimode optical fiber can reach a thermal equilibrium state that is characterized by a temperature and a generalized Rayleigh-Jeans distribution.

The periodic activity of repeating fast radio burst (FRB) 180916.J0158+65 was recently reported by the CHIME/FRB Collaboration team. 28 bursts from this source not only show a $\sim16$-day period with an active phase of $\sim 4.0$ days but also exhibit a broken power law in differential energy distribution. In this paper, we suggest that FRB 180916.J0158+65-like periodic FRBs would provide a unique probe of extragalactic asteroid belts (EABs), based on our previously-proposed pulsar-EAB impact model, in which repeating FRBs arise from an old-aged, slowly-spinning, moderately-magnetized pulsar traveling through an EAB around another stellar-mass object. These two objects form a binary and thus the observed period is in fact the orbital period. We show that this model can be used to well interpret all of the observed data of FRB 180916.J0158+65. Furthermore, we constrain the EAB's physical properties and find that (1) the outer radius of the EAB is at least an order of magnitude smaller than that of its analogue in the solar system, (2) the differential size distribution of the EAB's asteroids at small diameters (large diameters) is shallower (steeper) than that of solar-system small objects, and (3) the two belts have a comparable mass., 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

A new gamma ray spectrometer with high energy and time resolutions has been developed and installed on the EAST tokamak to study fast ion and runaway electron behaviors. The spectrometer is based on a LaBr3(Ce) scintillator detector and a fully digital data acquisition system that is based on a digitizer with digital pulse processing algorithms. The energy resolution of the spectrometer is about 3.9% at 662 keV, and the spectrometer can operate stably at a counting rate as high as 1 MHz, monitored by using a light emitting diode monitoring system. The measured gamma ray spectrum is simulated based on Geant4 and unfolded with the high-resolution boosted Gold deconvolution algorithm, aiming at reconstructing the energy distribution functions of fast ions and runaway electrons.

We investigate spontaneous emission from a quantum emitter located within the mode volume of a microring resonator that features chiral exceptional points. We show that this configuration offers enough degrees of freedom to exhibit a full control to either enhance or suppress the emission process. Particularly, we demonstrate that the Purcell factor can be enhanced by a factor of two beyond its value in an identical microring operating at a diabolic point. Our conclusions, which are derived using a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian formalism, are confirmed by employing full-wave simulations of realistic photonic structures and materials. Our results offer a straightforward route to improve the performance of single photon sources using current photonics technology without the need for building optical resonators with ultrahigh quality factors or nanoscale volumes.

We demonstrate 2D reconstructions of the fast-ion velocity distribution from two-view fast-ion D-alpha (FIDA) measurements at the EAST tokamak. By expressing the distribution in a basis relying on the fast-ion slowing-down process in fusion plasmas, the smoothness and velocity-space resolution of reconstructions are improved. We reconstruct distributions of fast ions born from simultaneous co- and counter-current neutral beam injection and detect the expected distinct change in fast-ion birth pitch when comparing discharges utilizing different neutral beam injectors. For purely co-current injection, we find a good agreement between TRANSP-predicted and reconstructed fast-ion densities, pressures and current densities for energies above 20 keV. We furthermore illustrate the improvement of the reconstructed high-energy range (> 40 keV) of the distribution by combining FIDA with neutron emission spectroscopy measurements with the compact single-plate EJ301 scintillator.

Light trapping and radiation process from linear reciprocal photonic resonators is one of the fundamental processes in optical science and engineering. Recently, the concept of coherent virtual absorption (CVA) of light was introduced and investigated for planar and cylindrical optical structures. The key feature of CVA is that by engineering the time-dependence of the excitation waveform, one can temporarily store all the input energy into the optical structure without any leakage. Here we further explore this novel concept in integrated photonic setups made of microring resonators. By using coupled-mode theory (CMT), we derive an analytical expression for CVA in this platform. This in turn allows us to make the connection with the notion of coherent perfect absorption (CPA) as well as extending our analysis to active resonators (having optical gain). We next provide a physical insight into this process by using a simple model made of cascaded beam splitters. Importantly, we confirm our results using a full-wave analysis of realistic material systems. Finally, we discuss the limitation on the CVA process due to waveform mismatch and nonlinear effects.

It is one of the main coupling ways of broadband high power microwave pulse to enter into the electronic equipment in the form of field line coupling and produce effect. However, both the field and the coupling signal test data contain a certain interval of dispersion, which may conceal the inherent law of the field line coupling effect. In order to clearly understand and quantify the inheritance of the two signals, a large sample of field and single-core cable coupling signals were tested based on the plate-cable model, and the parameter characteristics and distribution of the two sets of impulse signals were statistically analyzed, and the inheritance between them was tested. This method and result can help to deepen the understanding of the internal law of field line coupling and extend the application to the determination of field-to-cable coupling transfer function.

Recently, our groups have introduced the notion of optical parametric amplification based on non-Hermitian phase matching wherein the incorporation of loss can lead to gain in this nonlinear optical process. Previous simulation results using second-order nonlinear optical coupled-mode theory have demonstrated the potential of this technique as an alternative to the stringent phase-matching condition, which is often difficult to achieve in semiconductor platforms. Here we fortify this notion for the case of third-order nonlinearity by considering parametric amplification in silicon nanowires and illustrate the feasibility of these devices by employing rigorous finite-difference time-domain analysis using realistic materials and geometric parameters. Particularly, we demonstrate that by systematic control of the optical loss of the idler in a four-wave mixing process, we can achieve efficient unidirectional energy conversion from the pump to the signal component even when the typical phase-matching condition is violated. Importantly, our simulations show that a signal gain of ∼ 9 d B for a waveguide length of a few millimeters is possible over a large bandwidth of several hundreds of nanometers ( ∼ 600 n m ). This bandwidth is nearly 2 orders of magnitude larger than what can be achieved in the conventional silicon-photonics-based four-wave mixing process.

Significant efforts have been dedicated to engineering optical systems with predefined, excitation-dependent light absorption. An important concept along this line is that of exceptional points which allow for engineering directional light absorbing schemes. Current systems, however, do not lend themselves to easy design criterion or robust experimental realization. Here we demonstrate that an optical microring resonator coupled to a waveguide terminated with a mirror supports a chiral exceptional surface that can be used as a platform for tailoring directional light absorption in a straightforward fashion. We further demonstrate that this configuration can be used to implement a unidirectional coherent perfect absorber with controllable differential loss by tuning only a single parameter.

Standard exceptional points (EPs) are non-Hermitian degeneracies that occur in open systems. At an EP, the Taylor series expansion becomes singular and fails to converge-a feature that was exploited for several applications. Here, we theoretically introduce and experimentally demonstrate a new class of parity-time symmetric systems [implemented using radio frequency (rf) circuits] that combine EPs with another type of mathematical singularity associated with the poles of complex functions. These nearly divergent exceptional points can exhibit an unprecedentedly large eigenvalue bifurcation beyond those obtained by standard EPs. Our results pave the way for building a new generation of telemetering and sensing devices with superior performance.

Scintillators, which are more tolerant of neutrons or γ-rays than semiconductors, are a promising candidate for soft X-ray (SX) diagnostics in high neutron flux environments such as JT-60SA or ITER. Although scintillators are tolerant of radiations, neutrons and γ-rays can cause scintillation light and become noise on SX signals. Therefore, a method to estimate the temporal effect by the radiations on SX signals and an appropriate design of the radiation shield based on the estimation are required. In previous studies, it has been proposed for estimating the effect by the radiations to calculate the absorption powers due to SXs, neutrons, and γ-rays in scintillators assuming that amplitudes of scintillation light are proportional to the absorption powers. In this study, an experimental examination of this proposal is conducted in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). It is shown that the proposal may be valid in the examination of EAST. In addition to results in EAST, initial results of a multi-channel scintillator-based SX diagnostic in the Large Helical Device (LHD) are introduced. Although a scintillator-based SX diagnostic in LHD observes oscillations of SXs by magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) phenomena successfully, the observed temporal effect on SX signals by neutrons or γ-rays is more significant than the expected effect, which is estimated by calculating the absorption powers. One of the possible reasons for the contradiction between the results in EAST and LHD is unexpected γ-rays around the scintillators in LHD. Although the temporal effect by the radiations is significant in the current system of LHD, the degradation of amplitudes of SX signals after the deuterium plasma experiments is not observed with the current level of the fluence. The scintillator-based SX diagnostic in LHD may work as a diagnostic to research MHD instabilities in deuterium plasma experiments without additional maintenance during an experimental campaign by making the pinhole larger or setting an additional radiation shield.

A Bonner sphere spectrometer (BSS) was developed compensating for the lack of active BSSs for intense neutron field characterization. The spectrometer combines the merits of present active and passive BSSs, namely, online data acquisition capability and intense neutron field resistance, respectively. The key elements of the development are the utilization of diamond detectors as thermal neutron sensors of BSSs and the incorporation of the air gap into the design of the diamond detector for optimizing the pulse height spectrum in order to enhance the rejection capability to ray backgrounds and to decrease the impacts of spectrometer instabilities. A two-step method capable of >100 times of calculation time saving compared to the whole geometry model was suggested to establish the response function for neutrons below 20MeV whose reliability was verified by the two other models. The applicability of the BSS to intense neutron field characterization was demonstrated by the good performance in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) neutron field with an emission rate of approximate to 10(13)-10(14) neutrons/s. The spectrometer is dedicated to the characterization of intense neutron fields around tokamaks. These devices may find an application in future tokamaks, such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, the Demonstration Power Station, and the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor, whose neutron emission rates will be >10(4) times higher than those of current tokamaks.

The characteristics and excitation conditions of Beta-induced Alfven-Acoustic Eigenmode (BAAE) have been investigated during sawteeth-like oscillation in EAST. The sawteeth-like events are triggered periodically by the m = 2/n = 1 double-tearing reconnection crash (DTRC), and the oscillations with period τo 100 ms, where m and n are the poloidal and toroidal mode numbers respectively. The BAAE coexists with Beta-induced Alfven Eigenmode (BAEs) and Reversed Shear Alfven Eigenmodes (RSAEs), and the BAAE has similar characteristics as the pair of BAEs-RSAEs. The radial structures of BAAE and BAEs are deformed into the analogous triangle shapes along poloidal direction, and the BAAE is located more outward with broadened radial coverage. The frequencies of BAAE and RSAEs are sweeping upward synchronously with the decreasing of qmin (qmin < 1), and the BAAE can also provide valuable constraint conditions for the q-profile measurements. Furthermore, the mode structure of BAAE is achieved experimentally with m = 4/n 4. The period τo of DTRC is an important factor, which can be adopted for evaluating the excitation condition of BAAE, namely the BAAE can be excited when the τo achieves the threshold condition. The τo increases when the total injected power of neutral beam injection (NBI) and ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) increases, where the NBI with beam direction is perpendicular to the plasma current. The gradient of electron temperature at the vicinity of qmin increases with τo, and the portion of energetic ions in the central region increases as well. Therefore, the BAAE in EAST should be excited by the special distribution of trapped energetic ions through toroidal precessional resonances, and the qmin 1 is also an important constraint condition.

Several compact neutron spectrometers are now installed at EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) to obtain information on fuel ions produced in the core of the plasma. In this paper, a stilbene crystal neutron spectrometer and an EJ301 liquid scintillator neutron spectrometer with n-γ discrimination capability will be discussed. Both spectrometers have a horizontal line of sight, while at different positions. In the last few experiment campaigns at EAST, they all proved to be reliable diagnostics for auxiliary heated D-D plasmas. Taking the response function simulated by dedicated Geant4 models into consideration, the velocity-space sensitivities given by the instrument-specific weight function of the beam-thermal part of neutron energy spectra in D-D plasmas are derived for both spectrometers with the Genesis code. This method makes it possible to directly relate the contribution of different deuteron velocity space regions to events in each channel of the neutron spectrum measured by the two instruments: http://rsi-htpd.peerx-press.org/.

We show that the theoretical framework linking exceptional points (EPs) to phase transitions in parity-time (PT) symmetric Hamiltonians is incomplete. Particularly, we demonstrate that the application of the squaring operator to a Jx PT lattice dramatically alter the topology of its Riemann surface, eventually resulting in a system that can cross an EP without undergoing a symmetry breaking. We elucidate on these rather surprising results by invoking the notion of phase diagrams in higher dimensional parameter space. Within this perspective, the canonical PT symmetry breaking paradigm arises only along certainprojections of the Riemann surface in the parameter space.

We investigate the extreme dynamics of non-Hermitian systems near higher-order exceptional points in photonic networks constructed using the bosonic algebra method. We show that strong power oscillations for certain initial conditions can occur as a result of the peculiar eigenspace geometry and its dimensionality collapse near these singularities. By using complementary numerical and analytical approaches, we show that, in the parity-time ($\mathcal{PT}$) phase near exceptional points, the logarithm of the maximum optical power amplification scales linearly with the order of the exceptional point. We focus in our discussion on photonic systems, but we note that our results apply to other physical systems as well.

We investigate the extreme dynamics of non-Hermitian photonic systems near higher order exceptional points (EP) and we show that the maximum possible power amplification follows a power-law dependence on the order of the EP.

The introduction of parity-time (PT) symmetry in optics and photonics has initiated intense activities exploring the exotic properties of these structures, eventually leading to the more general notion of non-Hermitian photonics. Efforts to understand the behavior of these systems have revealed a host of distinct features originating from the unusual character of their eigenspectra and eigenstates. These include for example, spontaneous symmetry breaking, bandgap merging, laser self-termination, unidirectional invisibility, and ultra-sensitivity to external perturbations. A central notion pertinent to all these effects is the concept of exceptional points (EPs). Also known as branch points, EPs are non-Hermitian spectral singularities that arise when two (or more) eigenvalues and their corresponding eigenstates become identical. While exceptional points of order two have been studied thoroughly at both the theoretical and experimental level, higher order EPs are attracting attention only recently. Here we discuss a systematic approach based on a recursive bosonic quantization scheme for generating discrete photonic networks that exhibit exceptional points of any arbitrary order. We also discuss the spectral properties and the extreme dynamics near these singularities as well as their physical implementation in various photonic platforms.

We apply the notion of discrete supersymmetry based on matrix factorization to quantum systems consisting of coupled bosonic oscillators to construct isospectral bosonic quantum networks. By using the algebra that arises due to the indistinguishability of bosonic particles, we write down the Schrodinger equations for these oscillators in the different boson-number sectors. By doing so, we obtain, for every partner quantum network, a system of coupled differential equations that can be emulated by classical light propagation in optical waveguide arrays. This mathematical scheme allows us to build quasi-two-dimensional optical arrays that are either isospectral or share only a subset of their spectrum after deliberately omitting some chosen eigenstates from the spectrum. As an example, we use this technique (which we call bosonic discrete supersymmetry or BD-SUSY) to design two optical, silica-based waveguide arrays consisting of six and three elements, respectively, with overlapping eigenspectrum.

The paper describes a new compact neutron spectrometer optimized for the detection of 2.5 MeV neutrons for fusion plasma applications. The first neutron spectroscopy measurements on a nuclear fusion plasma experiment (EAST) with this detector are also reported together with the data interpretation. The detector allowed separating the different neutron emission components from the plasma and to validate the effectiveness of the Neutral Beam Injection (NBI) heating. A possible improvement of the diagnostic has been also identified in order to increase the detector sensitivity to weak components of the neutron spectrum, such as those due to the Ion Cyclotron Resonace Heating (ICRH). The relatively simple response function of the (CLYC)-L-7 detector to 2.5 MeV neutrons together with its good capability in the n/gamma discrimination, makes this detector an interesting spectrometer for deuterium (D) plasma diagnostics. In particular, its compactness allows for integration in a multi-line of sight camera where space constraints are present.

The characters of slide-away regime in the HT-7 tokamak have been investigated, and evidences that lower hybrid waves (LHW) are excited in slide-away regime are presented based on local fast electron bremsstrahlung (FEB) emission profile and FEB emission spectrum. The interaction of high energy runaway electrons with those excited LHW via anomalous Doppler resonance is analyzed and the resonance energy is derived with which the behavior of those relevant signals in the experiment can be explained very well. It is shown that this interaction can provide an effective way to reduce the damage to the machine caused by runaway electrons.

The quasar absorption lines are crucial to our understanding of the Universe since the absorption lines provide a wealth of information on the gaseous Universe from high redshift to present day. The absorption lines can also allow us to probe the metallicity and ionization state of the gas (Wild et al. 2008). Owing to the advent of large spectroscopic surveys such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS; York et al. 2000), tens of thousands of quasar absorption lines can be identified. However, it is very difficult to identify absorption line systems, especially for the weak absorption line system and the spectrum of low signal-to-noise ratio. In the most previous works, the identification of absorption line systems were mainly completed by two steps: estimating the continuum using the principal component analysis (PCA) and autoidentifying the absorption line systems by computer programs (see, e.g., Lundgren et al. 2009). In this work, we provide our method for identifying the MgII absorption line systems.

The Time-Of-Flight Enhanced Diagnostics (TOFED) neutron spectrometer with a double-ring structure has been installed at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) to perform advanced neutron emission spectroscopy diagnosis for deuterium plasma. In order to reduce the random coincidence from the background neutrons and gamma-rays, TOFED was moved outside the experimental hall and placed in the newly-built nuclear diagnostics laboratory in 2017. In this paper, the instrument-specific weight functions of TOFED are derived by taking the instrument response matrix and the radial line of sight in this new layout into consideration. The results show that the instrument is predominantly sensitive to counter-passing particles in the region where time-of-flights < 69.4 ns, while events at higher time-of-flights (corresponding lower neutron energies) are mostly representative of co-passing ions. The instrument-specific weight functions express the relationship between data in a given channel of the spectrum and the velocity space region that contributes to that. The results can be applied for energetic particle physics studies at EAST, in particular to compare data from different diagnostic techniques.

An experimental study of runaway electrons in the EAST tokamak has been performed by a recently developed multi-channel hard x-ray diagnostics based on NaI(TL) scintillator detectors. It is found that in the current quench phase, the inductive loop voltage plays an important role in the generation of runaway electrons. And the avalanche mechanism was the main mechanism for runaway electrons after the disruptions. The distribution and transportation of runaway electrons were also investigated by multi-channel hard x-ray diagnostics. It is also found that the intensity of runaway electrons emission in the core plasma was much higher than those in the downside of the cross-section, while the emission intensity of runaway electrons in the core plasma was almost the same. Calculated shrinking coefficient of runaway electrons emission after the plasma disruption was about 26 m/s according to the experimental data (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The first 2+ states in 134Ce and 136Nd and the second 2+ state in 136Nd were populated by Coulomb excitation at relativistic energies, and γ-rays were measured using the RISING setup at GSI. For 134Ce an indication of the excitation to the second 2+ state was observed. This experiment performed for the first time Coulomb excitation to second 2+ states with rare isotope beams at relativistic energies. For 136Nd the B ( E 2 ; 2 1 + → 0 + ) , B ( E 2 ; 2 2 + → 0 + ) , and B ( E 2 ; 2 2 + → 2 1 + ) values relative to the previously known B ( E 2 ; 2 1 + → 0 + ) value for 134Ce are determined as 81(10), 11(3) and 180(92) W.u., respectively. The results are discussed in the framework of geometrical models that indicate pronounced γ-softness in these nuclei.

The first plasma discharges were successfully achieved on the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST) in 2006. The sawteeth behaviours were observed by means of soft x-ray diagnostics and ECE signals in the EAST. The displacement and radius of the q = 1 surface was studied and compared with the result of equilibrium calculation. The density sawtooth oscillation was also observed by the HCN laser interferometer diagnostics. The structure of the EAST operational region was studied in detail. Plasma performance was obviously improved by the boronization and wall conditioning. It was observed that lower qa and a wider stable operating region is extended by the GDC boronization.

International audience; Two odd-odd nuclei from the A ~ 100 and A ~ 130 regions, namely ^102Rh and ^134Pr have been studied in search for chiral doublet bands via ^94Zr(^11B,3n)^102Rh and ^119Sn(^19F,4n)^134Pr reactions, respectively. Two nearly degenerate bands built on the pig_9/2 ⊗ vh_11/2 configuration have been identified in ^102Rh and on the pig_11/2 ⊗ vh_11/2 configuration for ^134Pr. Lifetimes of excited nuclear states were measured using Dopplershift attenuation method and recoil distance Doppler-shift method. The deexciting gamma rays were registered by the Indian National Gamma Array for ^102Rh and using the EUROBALL IV detector array with an inner Bismuth Germanate (BGO) ball for ^134Pr, respectively. Polarization and angular correlation measurements have been performed to establish the spin and parity assignments for these bands. The derived reduced transition probabilities are compared to the predicitons of the two quasiparticles + triaxial rotor and interacting boson fermion-fermion models.

The runaway electrons produced during spontaneous disruptions were studied when lower hybrid wave heating was used in the EAST tokamak. Up to of the pre-disruptive plasma current can be transferred to runaway current in the disruptions when seed fast electrons exist in the plasma. The evolutions of the radial profile of the electric field and the runaway electron density are obtained with the aid of an one-dimensional self-consistent simulation model. The results clearly show the competition between the radial diffusion of the induced electric field and growth of the runaway current. They also indicate that the dominant runaway generation mechanism was of Dreicer type, and half of the decreasing magnetic energy was converted into runaway electron kinetic energy during the disruptions.

To assess the neutron energy spectra and the neutron dose for different positions around the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) device, a Bonner Sphere Spectrometer (BSS) was developed at Peking University, with totally nine polyethylene spheres and a SP9 3He counter. The response functions of the BSS were calculated by the Monte Carlo codes MCNP and GEANT4 with dedicated models, and good agreement was found between these two codes. A feasibility study was carried out with a simulated neutron energy spectrum around EAST, and the simulated "experimental" result of each sphere was obtained by calculating the response with MCNP, which used the simulated neutron energy spectrum as the input spectrum. With the deconvolution of the "experimental" measurement, the neutron energy spectrum was retrieved and compared with the preset one. Good consistence was found which offers confidence for the application of the BSS system for dose and spectrum measurements around a fusion device. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

The novel neutron spectrometer TOFED (Time of Flight Enhanced Diagnostics), comprising 90 individual photomultiplier tubes coupled with 85 plastic scintillation detectors through light guides, has been constructed and installed at Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak. A dedicated magnetic shielding system has been constructed for TOFED, and is designed to guarantee the normal operation of photomultiplier tubes in the stray magnetic field leaking from the tokamak device. Experimental measurements and numerical simulations carried out employing the finite element method are combined to optimize the design of the magnetic shielding system. The system allows detectors to work properly in an external magnetic field of 200 G.

A new time-of-flight neutron spectrometer TOFED has been constructed for installation at Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak. A data acquisition system combining measurements of flight time and energy from the interaction of neutrons with the TOFED scintillators has been developed. The data acquisition system can provide a digitizing resolution better than 1.5% (to be compared with the >10% resolution of the recoil particle energy in the plastic scintillators) and a time resolution

The 2.5 MeV neutron spectrometer TOFED (Time-Of-Flight Enhanced Diagnostics) has been constructed to perform advanced neutron emission spectroscopy diagnosis of deuterium plasmas on EAST. The instrument has a double-ring structure which, in combination with pulse shape digitization, allows for a dual kinematic selection in the time-of-flight/recoil proton energy (tof/Ep) space, thus improving the spectrometer capability to resolve fast ion signatures in the neutron spectrum, in principle up to a factor ≈100. The identification and separation of features from the energetic ions in the neutron spectrum depends on the detailed knowledge of the instrument response function, both in terms of the light output function of the scintillators and the effect of undesired multiple neutron scatterings in the instrument. This work presents the determination of the light output function of the TOFED plastic scintillator detectors and their geometrical assembly. Results from dedicated experiments with γ-ray sources and quasi-monoenergetic neutron beams are presented. Implications on the instrument capability to perform background suppression based on double kinematic selection are discussed. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

A radiation shielding has been designed to reduce scattered neutrons and background gamma-rays for the new double-ring Time Of Flight Enhanced Diagnostics (TOFED). The shielding was designed based on simulation with the Monte Carlo code MCNP5. Dedicated model of the EAST tokamak has been developed together with the emission neutron source profile and spectrum; the latter were simulated with the Nubeam and GENESIS codes. Significant reduction of background radiation at the detector can be achieved and this satisfies the requirement of TOFED. The intensities of the scattered and direct neutrons in the line of sight of the TOFED neutron spectrometer at EAST are studied for future data interpretation. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

The concept of non-Hermitian parametric amplification was recently proposed as a means to achieve an efficient energy conversion throughout the process of nonlinear three wave mixing in the absence of phase matching. Here we investigate this effect in a waveguide coupler arrangement whose characteristics are tailored to introduce passive PT symmetry only for the idler component. By means of analytical solutions and numerical analysis, we demonstrate the utility of these novel schemes and obtain the optimal design conditions for these devices.

The 2.5 MeV TOFED (Time-Of-Flight Enhanced Diagnostics) neutron spectrometer with a double-ring structure has been installed at Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) to perform advanced neutron emission spectroscopy diagnosis of deuterium plasmas. This work describes the response function of the TOFED spectrometer, which is evaluated for the fully assembled instrument in its final layout. Results from Monte Carlo simulations and dedicated experiments with pulsed light sources are presented and used to determine properties of light transport from the scintillator. A GEANT4 model of the TOFED spectrometer was developed to calculate the instrument response matrix. The simulated TOFED response function was successfully benchmarked against measurements of the time-of-flight spectra for quasi-monoenergetic neutrons in the energy range of 1-4 MeV. The results are discussed in relation to the capability of TOFED to perform beam ion studies on EAST. Published by AIP Publishing.

To investigate the fast ion behavior, a fast ion D-alpha (FIDA) diagnostic system has been installed on EAST. Fast ion features can be inferred from the Doppler shifted spectrum of Balmer-alpha light from energetic hydrogenic atoms. This paper will focus on the validation of FIDA measurements performed using MHD-quiescent discharges in 2015 campaign. Two codes have been applied to calculate the Dα spectrum: one is a Monte Carlo code, Fortran 90 version FIDASIM, and the other is an analytical code, Simulation of Spectra (SOS). The predicted SOS fast-ion spectrum agrees well with the measurement; however, the level of fast-ion part from FIDASIM is lower. The discrepancy is possibly due to the difference between FIDASIM and SOS velocity distribution function. The details will be presented in the paper to primarily address comparisons of predicted and observed spectrum shapes/amplitudes.

Flash-induced light echoes-the observation of light reflected from a burst-have been observed in astronomical settings for more than a century and have been observed in the laboratory recently. Because of the flight time of light, perceived light echoes are different from real light illumination patterns on a scattering plane, neglecting interreflections and non-opaque scattering effects. The shape and motion of real illumination patterns are studied from a spherical flash. Then, ellipsoids of constant time delay for a specifically chosen coordinate system are applied. Generally, perceived light echoes are elliptical annular rings and the center of a light echo will not start at the flash, which leads to light echoes moving angularly toward the flash instead of away from it, a phenomenon actually recorded by other groups. The brightness of perceived light echoes was studied, and maximum brightness occurred close to the flash's projective point on the scattering plane. Two specific examples are given and a magnification effect between perceived echoes and real illumination patterns is proposed.

Neutron diagnostics have become a significant means to study energetic particles in high power auxiliary heating plasmas on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). Several kinds of neutron diagnostic systems have been implemented for time-resolved measurements of D-D neutron flux, fluctuation, emission profile, and spectrum. All detectors have been calibrated in laboratory, and in situ calibration using 252Cf neutron source in EAST is in preparation. A new technology of digitized pulse signal processing is adopted in a wide dynamic range neutron flux monitor, compact recoil proton spectrometer, and time of flight spectrometer. Improvements will be made continuously to the system to achieve better adaptation to the EAST’s harsh γ-ray and electro-magnetic radiation environment.

Microsecond level fast temporal resolved neutron flux and its fluctuation measurement system based on three types of solid scintillator detectors has been successfully established on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) for energetic particle (EP) and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) instabilities relevant studies. The detector #1, where 50mm thick polyethylene is used for neutron thermalization, is mostly sensitive to thermal neutron. The detector #2 and #3 measure fast D-D neutrons directly with different gamma immunity. Design details together with detector test results with three types of radioisotope sources are presented. The system has been successfully implemented in EAST experiments for neutron and gamma identification. Typical fast MHD fluctuation related EAST experimental results from this system is also presented.

An assembly of soft x-ray pulse height analyzer system, based on silicon drift detector (SDD), has been successfully established on the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST) to measure the spectrum of soft x-ray emission (E=1-20 keV). The system, including one 15-channel SDD linear array, is installed on EAST horizontal port C. The time-resolved radial profiles of electron temperature and K(alpha) intensities of metallic impurities have been obtained with a spatial resolution of around 7 cm during a single discharge. It was found that the electron temperatures derived from the system are in good agreement with the values from Thomson scattering measurements. The system can also be applied to the measurement of the long pulse discharge for EAST. The diagnostic system is introduced and some typical experimental results obtained from the system are also presented.

Lifetimes of exited states in $^{134}$Pr were measured by means of the recoil distance Doppler-shift and Doppler-shift attenuation techniques. The branching ratios and the electric or magnetic character of the transitions were also investigated. The experiments were performed at IReS, Strasbourg, using the EUROBALL IV spectrometer, in conjunction with the inner bismuth germanate ball and the Cologne coincidence plunger apparatus. Exited states in $^{134}$Pr were populated in the fusion-evaporation reaction $^{119}Sn(^{19}F, 4n)^{134}$Pr. The possible chiral interpretation of twin bands was investigated in the two-quasiparticle triaxial rotor and interacting boson-fermion-fermion models. The analysis of the wave functions has shown that the possibility for the angular momenta of the proton, neutron, and core to find themselves in the favorable, almost orthogonal geometry, is present but is far from being dominant. The structure is characterized by large $\beta$ and $\gamma$ fluctuations. The existence of doublets of bands in $^{134}$Pr can be attributed to weak chirality dominated by shape fluctuations.

Lifetimes of exited states in 134 Pr were measured be means of the recoil distance Doppler-shift and Doppler-shift attenuation techniques. The experiments were performed at IReS, Strasbourg using the EUROBALL IV spectrometer, in conjunction with the inner BGO ball and the Cologne coincidence plunger apparatus. Exited states in 134 Pr were populated in the fusion-evaporation reaction 119 Sn (19 F , 4 n )134 Pr . Reduced transition probabilities in 134 Pr are compared to the predictions of the two quasiparticle+triaxial rotor and interacting boson fermion-fermion models. The experimental results do not support the presence of static chirality in 134 Pr underlying the importance of shape fluctuations. Only within a dynamical context the presence of intrinsic chirality in 134 Pr can be supported.

Exited states in {sup 134}Pr were populated in the fusion-evaporation reaction {sup 119}Sn({sup 19}F,4n){sup 134}Pr. Recoil distance Doppler-shift and Doppler-shift attenuation measurements using the Euroball spectrometer, in conjunction with the inner Bismuth Germanate ball and the Cologne plunger, were performed at beam energies of 87 MeV and 83 MeV, respectively. Reduced transition probabilities in {sup 134}Pr are compared to the predictions of the two quasiparticle+triaxial rotor and interacting boson fermion-fermion models. The experimental results do not support the presence of static chirality in {sup 134}Pr underlying the importance of shape fluctuations. Only within a dynamical context the presence of intrinsic chirality in {sup 134}Pr can be supported.