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The analyses illustrated in this manuscript have been performed in order to provide the required data for the amplitude-and-phase calibration of the D-dot voltage probes used in the ITER-like antenna at the Joint European Torus tokamak. Their equivalent electrical circuit has been extracted and analyzed, and it has been compared to the one of voltage probes installed in simple transmission lines. A radio-frequency calibration technique has been formulated and exact mathematical relations have been derived. This technique mixes in an elegant fashion data extracted from measurements and numerical calculations to retrieve the calibration factors. The latter have been compared to previous calibration data with excellent agreement proving the robustness of the proposed radio-frequency calibration technique. In particular, it has been stressed that it is crucial to take into account environmental parasitic effects. A low-frequency calibration technique has been in addition formulated and analyzed in depth. The equivalence between the radio-frequency and low-frequency techniques has been rigorously demonstrated. The radio-frequency calibration technique is preferable in the case of the ITER-like antenna due to uncertainties on the characteristics of the cables connected at the inputs of the voltage probes. A method to extract the effect of a mismatched data acquisition system has been derived for both calibration techniques. Finally it has been outlined that in the case of the ITER-like antenna voltage probes can be in addition used to monitor the currents at the inputs of the antenna., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4964137

Since the installation on the Joint European Torus of the ITER-like Wall (ILW), intense radiation spikes have been observed, especially in the discharges following a disruption, and have been associated with possible sudden injection of tungsten (W) impurities consequent to full ablation of W dust particles. The problem of dust production, mobilization, and interaction both with the plasma and the vessel tiles is therefore of great concern and requires the setting up of dedicated and validated numerical modeling tools. Among these, a useful role is played by the dust trajectory calculators, which can present in a relatively clear way the qualitative and quantitative description of the mobilization and fate of selected bunches of dust grains., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4964672

During some JET vertical displacement events (VDEs) plasma current and position are found to be toroidally asymmetric. When asymmetries lock, the vessel has been observed to move horizontally, consequently strong horizontal forces are expected following plasma asymmetries, whether locked or rotating. The cause of horizontal forces is, as already identified in previous works, the asymmetric circulation of current in the structures. The physics mechanism responsible for these asymmetric currents is instead an open issue and it is the object of the present analysis. In particular it will be shown that the asymmetry is not due to a direct exchange of current between plasma and structure (as in the case of halo currents) but to asymmetric conductive paths which arise, in the structures, when the plasma column asymmetrically wets the wall. Simulations of this phenomenon using finite element (FE) models have been conducted to reproduce the JET observation during locked and rotating asymmetric VDEs. Estimated sideways force, asymmetry (I-p(asym)) and normalized asymmetry (A(p)(asym)) of plasma current, vertical position at different toroidal locations during the disruption and halo current asymmetry have been compared with measurements done at JET during upward AVDEs. The substantial match between experiments and simulations confirms the soundness of the assumptions. Furthermore, the same physical model applied to downward VDEs shows that divertor support and coils, together with the geometry of the limiting surfaces, considerably lessen asymmetric loads as experienced at JET after installing those components., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/56/10/106010

Prediction is one of the main objectives of scientific analysis and it refers to both modelling and forecasting. The determination of the limits of predictability is an important issue of both theoretical and practical relevance. In the case of modelling time series, reached a certain level in performance in either modelling or prediction, it is often important to assess whether all the information available in the data has been exploited or whether there are still margins for improvement of the tools being developed. In this paper, an information theoretic approach is proposed to address this issue and quantify the quality of the models and/or predictions. The excellent properties of the proposed indicator have been proved with the help of a systematic series of numerical tests and a concrete example of extreme relevance for nuclear fusion., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/11/07/C07013

The amplitude of locked instabilities, likely magnetic islands, seen as precursors to disruptions has been studied using data from the JET, ASDEX Upgrade and COMPASS tokamaks. It was found that the thermal quench, that often initiates the disruption, is triggered when the amplitude has reached a distinct level. This information can be used to determine thresholds for simple disruption prediction schemes. The measured amplitude in part depends on the distance of the perturbation to the measurement coils. Hence the threshold for the measured amplitude depends on the mode location (i.e. the rational q-surface) and thus indirectly on parameters such as the edge safety factor, q(95), and the internal inductance, li(3), that determine the shape of the q-profile. These dependencies can be used to set the disruption thresholds more precisely. For the ITER baseline scenario, with typically q(95) = 3.2, li(3) = 0.9 and taking into account the position of the measurement coils on ITER, the maximum allowable measured locked mode amplitude normalized to engineering parameters was estimated to be a.B-ML(r(c))/I-p = 0.92 m mT/MA, or directly as a fraction edge poloidal magnetic field: BML(r(c))/B theta(a) = 5 . 10(-3). But these values decrease for operation at higher q(95) or lower li(3). The analysis found furthermore that the above empirical criterion to trigger a thermal quench is more consistent with a criterion derived with the concept of a critical island size, i.e. the thermal quench seemed to be triggered at a distinct island width., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/56/2/026007

Radially propagating pre-ELM (edge localized mode) structures in the heat flux profile on the outer divertor have been observed both with and without magnetic perturbations on Joint European Torus. Recently pre-ELM structures over 80% of the ELM cycle are observed. The effects of n = 2 fields on pre-ELM structures are presented and analysed in detail. Redistribution of the inter-ELM heat load with the appearances of pre-ELM structures suggest that a wider energy wetted area could be achieved by the application of n = 2 fields. The influences of q(95) and gas puffing position on the change of pre-ELM structures are studied. Pre-ELM structures are normally long lived (several milliseconds) and appear consecutively with n = 2 fields, but do not necessarily lead to an ELM crash. The experimental observations suggest that the changed magnetic topology might be a possible explanation for the propagating structures., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/56/9/092011

A new analytical approximation for the electric potential profile in the presence of an oblique magnetic field and the analytical solution for the particle motion just before the impact with a plasma-facing surface are presented. These approximations are in good agreement with fluid solutions and the corresponding PIC simulations. These expressions were applied to provide effective physical erosion yields for Be, which have in a second step been used in ERO code simulations of spectroscopy at Be limiters of the JET ITER-like wall. These new analytical expressions lead to an increase of the effective physical sputtering yields of Be by deuteron impact up to 30% in comparison with earlier pure numerical simulations. ((c) 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim), For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ctpp.201610032

Measurements of the propagation frequency of magnetic islands in JET are compared with diamagnetic drift frequencies, in view of a possible diagnostic application to the determination of markers for the safety factor profile. Statistical analysis is performed for a database including many well-diagnosed plasma discharges. Propagation in the plasma frame, i.e. with subtracted E x B Doppler shift, results to be in the ion diamagnetic drift direction, with values ranging from 0.8 (for islands at the q = 2 resonant surface) to 1.8 (for more internal islands) times the ion diamagnetic drift frequency. The diagnostic potential of the assumption of island propagation at exactly the ion diamagnetic frequency is scrutinised. Rational-q locations obtained on the basis of this assumption are compared with the ones measured by equilibrium reconstruction including motional Stark effect measurements as constraints. Systematic shifts and standard deviations are determined for islands with (poloidal, toroidal) periodicity indexes of (2, 1), (3, 2), (4, 3) and (5, 3) and possible diagnostic applications are indicated., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/56/7/076004

As in many of today's tokamaks, plasma start-up in ITER will be performed in limiter configuration on either the inner or outer midplane first wall (FW). The massive, beryllium armored ITER FW panels are toroidally shaped to protect panel-to-panel misalignments, increasing the deposited power flux density compared with a purely cylindrical surface. The chosen shaping should thus be optimized for a given radial profile of parallel heat flux, q(parallel to) in the scrape-off layer (SOL) to ensure optimal power spreading. For plasmas limited on the outer wall in tokamaks, this profile is commonly observed to decay exponentially as q(parallel to) = q(0)exp (-r/lambda(omp)(q)), or, for inner wall limiter plasmas with the double exponential decay comprising a sharp near-SOL feature and a broader main SOL width, lambda(omp)(q). The initial choice of lambda(omp)(q), which is critical in ensuring that current ramp-up or down will be possible as planned in the ITER scenario design, was made on the basis of an extremely restricted L-mode divertor dataset, using infra-red thermography measurements on the outer divertor target to extrapolate to a heat flux width at the main plasma midplane. This unsatisfactory situation has now been significantly improved by a dedicated multi-machine ohmic and L-mode limiter plasma study, conducted under the auspices of the International Tokamak Physics Activity, involving 11 tokamaks covering a wide parameter range with R = 0.4-2.8 m, B-0 = 1.2-7.5T, I-p = 9-2500 kA. Measurements of lambda(omp)(q) in the database are made exclusively on all devices using a variety of fast reciprocating Langmuir probes entering the plasma at a variety of poloidal locations, but with the majority being on the low field side. Statistical analysis of the database reveals nine reasonable engineering and dimensionless scalings. All yield, however, similar predicted values of lambda(omp)(q) mapped to the outside midplane. The engineering scaling with the highest stati, For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0741-3335/58/7/074005

In this paper we present the comparison of simulations with the numerical codes COREDIV and SOLPS5.0 for JET L-mode discharges with ITER like wall (ILW). The simulations have been performed for L-mode shots with and without nitrogen seeding (#82291 - 9) which are characterised by relatively low auxiliary heating power (P-NBI = 1.1 MW) and low electron density (n(e) = 2.35 x 10(19) m(-3)). Comparisons are made to the experimental measurements (e.g. radiation levels, plasma profiles) and the differences between the results from the two codes (e.g. temperature and density profiles at the outer divertor plate) are shown and discussed., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ctpp.201610006

In hybrid plasma operation in JET with its ITER-like wall (JET-ILW) it is found that n > 1 tearing activity can significantly enhance the rate of on-axis peaking of high-Z impurities, which in turn significantly degrades discharge performance. Core n = 1 instabilities can be beneficial in removing impurities from the plasma core (e.g. sawteeth or fishbones), but can conversely also degrade core confinement (particularly in combination with simultaneous n = 3 activity). The nature of magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in JET hybrid discharges, with both its previous carbon wall and subsequent JET-ILW, is surveyed statistically and the character of the instabilities is examined. Possible qualitative models for how the n > 1 islands can enhance the on-axis impurity transport accumulation processes are presented., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/56/6/066002

A Bayesian model of the emission spectrum of the JET lithium beam has been developed to infer the intensity of the Li I (2p-2s) line radiation and associated uncertainties. The detected spectrum for each channel of the lithium beam emission spectroscopy system is here modelled by a single Li line modified by an instrumental function, Bremsstrahlung background, instrumental offset, and interference filter curve. Both the instrumental function and the interference filter curve are modelled with non-parametric Gaussian processes. All free parameters of the model, the intensities of the Li line, Bremsstrahlung background, and instrumental offset, are inferred using Bayesian probability theory with a Gaussian likelihood for photon statistics and electronic background noise. The prior distributions of the free parameters are chosen as Gaussians. Given these assumptions, the intensity of the Li line and corresponding uncertainties are analytically available using a Bayesian linear inversion technique. The proposed approach makes it possible to extract the intensity of Li line without doing a separate background subtraction through modulation of the Li beam., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4940925

Control of instabilities such as ELMs and sawteeth is considered an important ingredient in the development of reactor-relevant scenarios. Various forms of ELM pacing have been tried in the past to influence their behavior using external perturbations. One of the main problems with these synchronization experiments resides in the fact that ELMs are periodic or quasi-periodic in nature. Therefore, after any pulsed perturbation, if one waits long enough, an ELM is always bound to occur. To evaluate the effectiveness of ELM pacing techniques, it is crucial to determine an appropriate interval over which they can have a real influence and an effective triggering capability. In this paper, three independent statistical methods are described to address this issue: Granger causality, transfer entropy and recurrence plots. The obtained results for JET with the ITER-like wall (ILW) indicate that the proposed techniques agree very well and provide much better estimates than the traditional heuristic criteria reported in the literature. Moreover, their combined use allows for the improvement of the time resolution of the assessment and determination of the efficiency of the pellet triggering in different phases of the same discharge. Therefore, the developed methods can be used to provide a quantitative and statistically robust estimate of the triggering efficiency of ELM pacing under realistic experimental conditions., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/56/7/076008

Global gas balance experiments at ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) and JET have shown that a considerable fraction of nitrogen injected for radiative cooling is not recovered as N-2 upon regeneration of the liquid helium cryo pump. The most probable loss channels are ion implantation into plasma-facing materials, co-deposition and ammonia formation. These three mechanisms are investigated in laboratory and tokamak experiments and by numerical simulations. Laboratory experiments have shown that implantation of nitrogen ions into beryllium and tungsten leads to the formation of surface nitrides, which may decompose under thermal loads. On beryllium the presence of nitrogen at the surface has been seen to reduce the sputtering yield. On tungsten surfaces it has been observed that the presence of nitrogen can increase hydrogen retention. The global nitrogen retention in AUG by implantation into the tungsten surfaces saturates. At JET the steady state nitrogen retention is increased by co-deposition with beryllium. The tokamak experiments are interpreted in detail by simulations of the global migration with WallDYN. Mass spectrometry of the exhaust gas of AUG and JET has revealed the conversion of nitrogen to ammonia at percent-levels. Conclusions are drawn on the potential implications of nitrogen seeding on the operation of a reactor in a deuterium-tritium mix., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0031-8949/T167/1/014077

The reduced radiotoxicity and half-life of radioactive waste arisings from nuclear fusion reactors as compared to current fission reactors is one of the key benefits of nuclear fusion. As a result of the research programme at the Joint European Torus (JET), significant experience on the management of radioactive waste has been gained which will be of benefit to ITER and the nuclear fusion community. The successful management of radioactive waste is dependent on accurate and efficient tracking and characterisation of waste streams. To accomplish this all items at JET which are removed from radiological areas are identified and pre-characterised, by recording the radiological history, before being removed from or moved between radiological areas. This system ensures a history of each item is available when it is finally consigned as radioactive waste and also allows detailed forecasting of future arisings. All radioactive waste generated as part of JET operations is transferred to dedicated, on-site, handling facilities for further sorting, sampling and final streaming for off-site disposal. Tritium extraction techniques including leaching, combustion and thermal treatment followed by liquid scintillation counting are used to determine tritium content. Recent changes to government legislation and Culham specific disposal permit conditions have allowed CCFE to adopt additional disposal routes for fusion wastes requiring new treatment and analysis techniques. Facilities currently under construction include a water de-tritiation facility and a materials de-tritiation facility, both of which are relevant for ITER. The procedures used to manage radioactive waste from generation to off-site disposal have been assessed for relevance to ITER and a number have been shown to be significant. The procedures and de-tritiation factors demonstrated by radioactive waste treatment plants currently under construction will be important to tritium recovery and waste minimisation in ITER, For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2016.01.039

Experiments in the JET tokamak equipped with the ITER-like wall (ILW) revealed that the inner and outer target plate at the location of the strike points represent after one year of operation intact tungsten (W) surfaces without any beryllium (Be) surface coverage. The dynamics of near-surface retention, implantation, desorption and recycling of deuterium (D) in the divertor of plasma discharges are determined by W target plates. As the W plasma-facing components (PFCs) are not actively cooled, the surface temperature (T-surface) is increasing with plasma exposure, varying the balance between these processes in addition to the impinging deuteron fluxes and energies. The dynamic behaviour on a slow time scale of seconds was quantified in a series of identical L-mode discharges (JET Pulse Number (JPN)#81938-73) by intra-shot gas analysis providing the reduction of deuterium retention in W PFCs by 1/3 at a base temperature (T-base) range at the outer target plate between 65 degrees C and 150 degrees C equivalent to a T-surface span of 150 degrees C and 420 degrees C. The associated recycling and molecular D desorption during the discharge varies only at lowest temperatures moderately, whereas desorption between discharges rises significantly with increasing T-base. The retention measurements represent the sum of inner and outer divertor interaction at comparable T-surface. The dynamic behaviour on a fast time scale of ms was studied in a series of identical H-mode discharges (JPN #83623-83974) and coherent edge-localized mode (ELM) averaging. High energetic ELMs of about 3 keV are impacting on the W PFCs with fluxes of 3 x 10(23) D+ s(-1) m(-2) which is about four times higher than inter-ELM ion fluxes with an impact energy of about E-im = 200 eV. This intra-ELM ion flux is associated with a high heat flux of about 60 MW m(-2) to the outer target plate which causes T-surface rise by Delta T = 100 K per ELM covering finally the range between 160 degrees C and 1400 degre, For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0031-8949/T167/1/014076

Edge localised mode (ELM) control may be essential to develop ITER scenarios with a reasonable lifetime of divertor components, whilst ELM pacing may be essential to develop stationary ITER scenarios with a tungsten divertor. Resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) have mitigated ELMs in high collisionality plasmas in JET. The efficacy of RMPs in mitigating the ELMs is found to depend on plasma shaping, with the change in magnetic boundary achieved when non-axisymmetric fields are applied facilitating access to small ELM regimes. The understanding of ELM pacing by vertical kicks or pellets has also been improved in a range of pedestal conditions in JET (T-ped = 0.7-1.3 keV) encompassing the ITER-expected domain (beta(N) = 1.4-2.4, H-98(y,H- 2) = 0.8-1.2, f(GW) similar to 0.7). ELM triggering is reliable provided the perturbation is above a threshold which depends on pedestal parameters. ELM triggering is achieved even in the first 10% of the natural ELM cycle suggesting no inherent maximum frequency. At high normalised pressure, the peeling-ballooning modes are stabilised as predicted by ELITE, necessitating a larger perturbation from either kicks or pellets in order to trigger ELMs. Both kicks and pellets have been used to pace ELMs for tungsten flushing. This has allowed stationary plasma conditions with low gas injection in plasmas where the natural ELM frequency is such that it would normally preclude stationary conditions., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0741-3335/58/1/014017

A subset of JET ITER-like wall (ILW) discharges, combining electron density and temperature as well as divertor heat flux measurements, has been collected for the validation of non-linear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of edge-localised-modes (ELMs). This permits a quantitative comparison of simulation results against experiments, which is required for the validation of predicted ELM energy losses and divertor heat fluxes in future tokamaks like ITER. This paper presents the first results of such a quantitative comparison, and gives a perspective of what will be necessary to achieve full validation of non-linear codes like JOREK. In particular, the present study highlights the importance of pre-ELM equilibria and parallel energy transport models in MHD simulations, which form the underlying basis of ELM physics., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0741-3335/58/1/014026

The Joint European Torus (JET) high resolution Thomson scattering (HRTS) system measures radial electron temperature and density profiles. One of the key capabilities of this diagnostic is measuring the steep pressure gradient, termed the pedestal, at the edge of JET plasmas. The pedestal is susceptible to limiting instabilities, such as Edge Localised Modes (ELMs), characterised by a periodic collapse of the steep gradient region. A common method to extract the pedestal width, gradient, and height, used on numerous machines, is by performing a modified hyperbolic tangent (mtanh) fit to overlaid profiles selected from the same region of the ELM cycle. This process of overlaying profiles, termed ELM synchronisation, maximises the number of data points defining the pedestal region for a given phase of the ELM cycle. When fitting to HRTS profiles, it is necessary to incorporate the diagnostic radial instrument function, particularly important when considering the pedestal width. A deconvolved fit is determined by a forward convolution method requiring knowledge of only the instrument function and profiles. The systematic error due to the deconvolution technique incorporated into the JET pedestal fitting tool has been documented by Frassinetti et al. [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 013506 (2012)]. This paper seeks to understand and quantify the systematic error introduced to the pedestal width due to ELM synchronisation. Synthetic profiles, generated with error bars and point-to-point variation characteristic of real HRTS profiles, are used to evaluate the deviation from the underlying pedestal width. We find on JET that the ELM synchronisation systematic error is negligible in comparison to the statistical error when assuming ten overlaid profiles (typical for a pre-ELM fit to HRTS profiles). This confirms that fitting a mtanh to ELM synchronised profiles is a robust and practical technique for extracting the pedestal structure., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4939855

Operation with a Be/W wall at JET (JET-ILW) has an impact on scenario development and energy confinement with respect to the carbon wall (JET-C). The main differences observed were (1) strong accumulation of W in the plasma core and (2) the need to mitigate the divertor target temperature to avoid W sputtering by Be and other low Z impurities and (3) a decrease of plasma energy confinement. A major difference is observed on the pedestal pressure, namely a reduction of the pedestal temperature which, due to profile stiffness the plasma core temperature is also reduced leading to a degradation of the global confinement. This effect is more pronounced in low beta(N) scenarios. At high beta(N), the impact of the wall on the plasma energy confinement is mitigated by the weaker plasma energy degradation with power relative to the IPB98(y, 2) scaling calculated empirically for a CFC first wall. The smaller tolerable impurity concentration for tungsten (<10 (5)) compared to that of carbon requires the use of electron heating methods to prevent W accumulation in the plasma core region as well as gas puffing to avoid W entering the plasma core by ELM flushing and reduction of the W source by decreasing the target temperature. W source and the target temperature can also be controlled by impurity seeding. Nitrogen and Neon have been used and with both gases the reduction of the W source and the target temperature is observed. Whilst more experiments with Neon are necessary to assess its impact on energy confinement, a partial increase of plasma energy confinement is observed with Nitrogen, through the increase of edge temperature. The challenge for scenario development at JET is to extend the pulse length curtailed by its transient behavior (W accumulation or MHD), but more importantly by the divertor target temperature limits. Re-optimisation of the scenarios to mitigate the effect of the change of wall materials maintaining high global energy confinement similar to JET-C, For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0741-3335/58/1/014034

Neutron-induced fission cross sections of 238U and 235U are used as standards in the fast neutron region up to 200 MeV. A high accuracy of the standards is relevant to experimentally determine other neutron reaction cross sections. Therefore, the detection effciency should be corrected by using the angular distribution of the fission fragments (FFAD), which are barely known above 20 MeV. In addition, the angular distribution of the fragments produced in the fission of highly excited and deformed nuclei is an important observable to investigate the nuclear fission process. In order to measure the FFAD of neutron-induced reactions, a fission detection setup based on parallel-plate avalanche counters (PPACs) has been developed and successfully used at the CERN-n_TOF facility. In this work, we present the preliminary results on the analysis of new 235U(n,f) and 238U(n,f) data in the extended energy range up to 200 MeV compared to the existing experimental data.

In many applications, especially those involving scientific instrumentation data with a large experimental error, it is often necessary to carry out linear regression in the presence of severe outliers which may adversely affect the results. Robust regression methods do exist, but they are much more computationally intensive, making it difficult to apply them in real-time scenarios. In this work, we resort to graphics processing unit (GPU)-based computing to carry out robust regression in a time-sensitive application. We illustrate the results and the performance gains obtained by parallelizing one of the most common robust regression methods, namely, least median of squares. Although the method has a complexity of O(n(3) log n), with GPU computing, it is possible to accelerate it to the point that it becomes usable within the required time frame. In our experiments, the input data come from a plasma diagnostic system installed at Joint European Torus, the largest fusion experiment in Europe, but the approach can be easily transferred to other applications., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4935882

In a wide variety of natural and laboratory magnetized plasmas, filaments appear as a result of interchange instability. These convective structures substantially enhance transport in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic field. According to filament models, their propagation may follow different regimes depending on the parallel closure of charge conservation. This is of paramount importance in magnetic fusion plasmas, as high collisionality in the scrape-off layer may trigger a regime transition leading to strongly enhanced perpendicular particle fluxes. This work reports for the first time on an experimental verification of this process, linking enhanced transport with a regime transition as predicted by models. Based on these results, a novel scaling for global perpendicular particle transport in reactor relevant tokamaks such as ASDEX-Upgrade and JET is found, leading to important implications for next generation fusion devices., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.215002

The main purpose of this work is to study the dependence of trapped electron modes (TEM) threshold and of electron stiffness on the most relevant plasma parameters. Dedicated transport experiments based on heat flux scans and T-e modulation have been performed in JET in TEM dominated plasmas with pure ICRH electron heating and a numerical study using gyrokinetic simulations has been performed with the code GKW. Using multilinear regressions on the experimental data, the stabilizing effect of magnetic shear predicted by theory for our plasma parameters is confirmed while no significant effect of safety factor was found. Good quantitative agreement is found between the TEM thresholds found in the experiments and calculated with linear GKW simulations. Non-linear simulations have given further confirmation of the threshold values and allowed comparison with the values of stiffness found experimentally. Perturbative studies using RF power modulation indicate the existence of an inward convective term for the electron heat flux. Adding NBI power, ion temperature gradient (ITG) modes become dominant and a reduction of vertical bar del T-e vertical bar/T-e with respect to pure ICRH, TEM dominant discharges has been experimentally observed, in spite of increased total electron power. Possible explanations are discussed., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/55/11/113016

JET experiments have compared the efficacy of low-and high field side ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) as an actuator to deliberately minimise the sawtooth period. It is found that low-field side ICRH with low minority concentration is optimal for saw tooth control for two main reasons. Firstly, low-field side heating means that any toroidal phasing of the ICRH (-90 degrees, +90 degrees or dipole) has a destabilising effect on the sawteeth, meaning that dipole phasing can be employed, since tins is preferable due to less plasma wall interaction from Resonant Frequency (RI) sheaths. Secondly, the resonance position of the low field side ICRH does not have to be very accurately placed to achieve saw tooth control, relaxing the requirement for real-time control of the RF frequency. These empirical observations have been confirmed by hybrid kinetic-magnetohydrodynamic modelling, and suggest that the ICRH antenna design for ITER is well positioned to provide a control actuator capable of having a significant effect on the sawtooth behaviour., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0022377815000987

New experiments in 2013-2014 have investigated the physics responsible for the decrease in H-mode pedestal confinement observed in the initial phase of JET-ILW operation (2012 Experimental Campaigns). The effects of plasma triangularity, global beta and neutrals on pedestal confinement and stability have been investigated systematically. The stability of JET-ILW pedestals is analysed in the framework of the peeling-ballooning model and the model assumptions of the pedestal predictive code EPED. Low D neutrals content in the plasma, achieved either by low D-2 gas injection rates or by divertor configurations with optimum pumping, and high beta are necessary conditions for good pedestal (and core) performance. In such conditions the pedestal stability is consistent with the peeling-ballooning paradigm. Moderate to high D-2 gas rates, required for W control and stable H-mode operation with the ILW, lead to increased D neutrals content in the plasma and additional physics in the pedestal models may be required to explain the onset of the ELM instability. The changes in H-mode performance associated with the change in JET wall composition from C to Be/W point to D neutrals and low-Z impurities playing a role in pedestal stability, elements which are not currently included in pedestal models. These aspects need to be addressed in order to progress towards full predictive capability of the pedestal height., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/55/11/113031

A parametrised spectral line profile model is formulated to investigate the diagnostic scope for recovering plasma parameters from hydrogenic Balmer and Paschen series spectroscopy in the context of JET-ILW divertor plasmas. The separate treatment of Zeeman and Stark contributions in the line model is tested against the PPP-B code which accounts for their combined influence on the spectral line shape. The proposed simplified model does not fully reproduce the Stark-Zeeman features for the alpha and beta transitions, but good agreement is observed in the line width and wing profiles, especially for n > 5. The line model has been applied to infer radial density profiles in the JET-ILW divertor with generally good agreement between the D 5 -> 2, 5 -> 3, 6 -> 2, 7 -> 2 and 9 -> 2 lines for high recycling and detached conditions. In an L-mode detached plasma pulse the Langmuir probe measurements typically underestimated the density by a factor 2-3 and overestimated the electron temperature by a factor of 5-10 compared to spectroscopically derived values. The line model is further used to generate synthetic high-resolution spectra for low-n transitions to assess the potential for parameter recovery using a multi-parametric fitting technique. In cases with 4 parameter fits with a single Maxwellian neutral temperature component the D 4 -> 3 line yields the best results with parameter estimates within 10% of the input values. For cases with 9 parameter fits inclusive of a multi-component neutral velocity distribution function the quality of the fits is degraded. Simultaneous fitting of the D 3 -> 2 and 4 -> 3 profiles improves the fit quality significantly, highlighting the importance of complementary spectroscopic measurements for divertor plasma emission studies., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/55/12/123028

The density evolution during the transient phase just after the L-H transition is investigated using theoretical transport models. Cases characterized by core densities which evolve in longer timescales than the edge densities, leading to hollow density profiles (R/L-n = -R del n/n < 0) are modelled. This density evolution is particularly interesting because it has been shown to be beneficial in the view of the access to burning plasma conditions in ITER (Loarte et al 2013 Nucl. Fusion 53 083031). Self-consistent simulations of the JET discharge 79676 of the density-only, and of the density and the temperatures are carried out using a quasilinear gyrokinetic code, QuaLiKiz (Bourdelle et al 2007 Phys. Plasmas 14 112501), coupled with a transport code CRONOS (Artaud et al 2010 Nucl. Fusion 50 043001). The slow evolution of the hollow density, associated with the self-consistently calculated hollow NBI particle deposition, is well reproduced in the plasma core. Indeed, QuaLiKiz is shown to reproduce nonlinear gyrokinetic heat and particle fluxes well for both positive and negative R/L-n. That gives a theoretical and general basis for the persistence of the hollowness, laying the groundwork for the extrapolation to ITER., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/55/12/123001

Radiation asymmetries during disruption mitigation by massive gas injection (MGI) can result in substantial first wall heat loads in ITER and have, therefore, to be minimised. This paper gives a first analysis of the relation between the magnetohydrodynamic instabilities governing the thermal quench (TQ) and the toroidal distribution of the radiated power during MGI experiments at JET. It is found that the radiation asymmetry is closely linked to the toroidal phase of the n = 1 mode. The mode phase, on the other hand, is influenced by the injection itself, with the O-point of the mode being displaced towards the injection location. The development of a m = 1 component during the TQ has been identified from temperature and soft x-ray measurements. The observations suggest that the TQ mechanism during MGI is the same as for density limit disruptions. High energy plasmas show a much smaller peaking compared to Ohmically heated plasmas. Neon injection has the tendency towards lower radiation peaking compared to argon injection., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/55/12/123027

Results of the first dust survey in JET with the ITER-Like Wall (JET-ILW) are presented. The sampling was performed using adhesive stickers from the divertor tiles where the greatest material deposition was detected after the first JET-ILW campaign in 2011-2012. The emphasis was especially on sampling and analysis of metal particles (Be and W) with the aim to determine the composition, size, surface topography and internal dust structure using a large set of methods: high-resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopy, focused ion beam, electron diffraction and also wavelength and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The most important was the identification of beryllium dust both in the form of flakes and droplets with dimensions in the micrometer range. Tungsten, molybdenum, inconel constituents were identified along with many impurity species. The particles are categorised and the origin of the various constituents discussed., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/55/11/113033

Asymmetrical disruptions may occur during ITER operation and they may be accompanied by large sideways forces and rotation of the asymmetry. This is of particular concern because resonance of the rotating asymmetry with the natural frequencies of the vacuum vessel (and other in-vessel components) could lead to large dynamic amplification of the forces. A significant fraction of non-mitigated JET disruptions have toroidally asymmetric currents that flow partially inside the plasma and partially inside the surrounding vacuum vessel ('wall'). The toroidal asymmetries (otherwise known as the appearance of 3D structures) are clearly visible in the plasma current (I-p) and the first plasma current moments. For the first time we present here the asymmetries in toroidal flux measured by the diamagnetic loops and also propose a physical interpretation. The presented data covers the period of JET operation with a C-wall (JET-C from 2005 until late 2009) and with an ITER-like wall (JET-ILW from 2011 until late 2014), during which pick-up coil and saddle loop data at four toroidally orthogonal locations were routinely recorded. The observed rotations of the Ip asymmetries are in the range from -5 turns to +10 turns (a negative value is counted to the negative plasma current). Initial observations on COMPASS of asymmetric disruptions are presented, which are in line with JET data. The whole of the JET-ILW disruption database and the limited number of COMPASS disruptions examined confirm that the development of the toroidal asymmetry precedes the drop to unity of q95. It is shown that massive gas injection (MGI), which is routinely used to mitigate disruptions, significantly reduces the I-p asymmetries in JET. However, MGI produces fast plasma current quench and consequently high vessel eddy currents, which expose the machine to additional stresses. The effect of the large gas quantity used during the injection is of particular concern as well., For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/55/11/113006

The cross section of the Tb-159(n, gamma)Tb-160 reaction was measured in four mono-energetic neutron fields of energy 3.7, 4.3, 5.4, and 6.85 MeV, respectively, with the activation technique applied to metal discs of natural composition. To ensure an acceptable precision of the results all major sources of uncertainties were taken into account. Calculations of detector efficiency, incident neutron spectrum and correction factors were performed with the Monte Carlo code (MCNPX), whereas theoretical excitation functions were calculated with the TALYS-1.2 code and compared to the experimental cross section values. This paper presents both measurements and calculation leading to the cross section values.

The neutron capture cross section of 58Ni was measured at the neutron time of flight facility n_TOF at CERN, from 27 meV to 400 keV neutron energy. Special care has been taken to identify all the possible sources of background, with the so-called neutron background obtained for the first time using high-precision GEANT4 simulations. The energy range up to 122 keV was treated as the resolved resonance region, where 51 resonances were identified and analyzed by a multilevel R-matrix code SAMMY. Above 122 keV the code SESH was used in analyzing the unresolved resonance region of the capture yield. Maxwellian averaged cross sections were calculated in the temperature range of kT = 5 – 100 keV, and their astrophysical implications were investigated.

Neutron energy spectrometry diagnostics play an important role in present-day experiments related to fusion energy research. Measurements and thorough analysis of the neutron emission from the fusion plasma give information on a number of basic fusion performance quantities, on the condition of the neutron source and plasma behavior. Here we discuss the backscatter Time-of-Flight (bTOF) spectrometer concept as a possible instrument for performing high resolution measurements of 14 MeV neutrons. The instrument is based on two sets of scintillators, a first scatterer exposed to a collimated neutron beam and a second detector set placed in the backward direction. The scintillators of the first set are enriched in deuterium to achieve neutron backscattering. The energy resolution and efficiency of a bTOF instrument have been determined for various geometrical configurations. A preliminary design of optimal geometry for the two scintillator sets has been obtained by Monte Carlo simulations based on the MCNPX code.

The neutron sensitivity of the C6D6 detector setup used at n_TOF facility for capture measurements has been studied by means of detailed GEANT4 simulations. A realistic software replica of the entire n_TOF experimental hall, including the neutron beam line, sample, detector supports and the walls of the experimental area has been implemented in the simulations. The simulations have been analyzed in the same manner as experimental data, in particular by applying the Pulse Height Weighting Technique. The simulations have been validated against a measurement of the neutron background performed with a natC sample, showing an excellent agreement above 1 keV. At lower energies, an additional component in the measured natC yield has been discovered, which prevents the use of natC data for neutron background estimates at neutron energies below a few hundred eV. The origin and time structure of the neutron background have been derived from the simulations. Examples of the neutron background for two different samples are demonstrating the important role of accurate simulations of the neutron background in capture cross-section measurements.

Above 1 MeV of incident neutron energy the fission fragment angular distribution (FFAD) has generally a strong anisotropic behavior due to the combination of the incident orbital momentum and the intrinsic spin of the fissioning nucleus. This effect has to be taken into account for the efficiency estimation of devices used for fission cross section measurements. In addition it bears information on the spin deposition mechanism and on the structure of transitional states. We designed and constructed a detection device, based on Parallel Plate Avalanche Counters (PPAC), for measuring the fission fragment angular distributions of several isotopes, in particular 232Th. The measurement has been performed at n_TOF at CERN taking advantage of the very broad energy spectrum of the neutron beam. Fission events were recognized by back to back detection in coincidence in two position-sensitive detectors surrounding the targets. The detection efficiency, depending mostly on the stopping of fission fragments in backings and electrodes, has been computed with a Geant4 simulation and validated by the comparison to the measured case of 235U below 3 keV where the emission is isotropic. In the case of 232Th, the result is in good agreement with previous data below 10 MeV, with a good reproduction of the structures associated to vibrational states and the opening of second chance fission. In the 14 MeV region our data are much more accurate than previous ones which are broadly scattered.