Search

Energetic-particle-driven geodesic acoustic modes (EGAMs) observed in a Large Helical Device experiment are investigated using a hybrid simulation code for energetic particles interacting with a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) fluid. The frequency chirping of the primary mode and the sudden excitation of the half-frequency secondary mode are reproduced for the first time with the hybrid simulation using the realistic physical condition and the three-dimensional equilibrium. Both EGAMs have global spatial profiles which are consistent with the experimental measurements. For the secondary mode, the bulk pressure perturbation and the energetic particle pressure perturbation cancel each other out, and thus the frequency is lower than the primary mode. It is found that the excitation of the secondary mode does not depend on the nonlinear MHD coupling. The secondary mode is excited by energetic particles that satisfy the linear and nonlinear resonance conditions, respectively, for the primary and secondary modes.

We investigate spatial structures of turbulence and turbulent transport modulated by the geodesic acoustic mode (GAM), from which the excitation mechanism of the GAM is discussed. The GAM is found to be predominantly excited through a localized Reynolds stress force, rather than the dynamic shearing force. The evaluated growth rate is larger than the linear damping coefficients and is on the same order of magnitude as the effective growth rate evaluated from time evolution in the GAM kinetic energy.

The resistive interchange mode destabilized by the resonant interaction with the trapped energetic ions is fully suppressed when the injected power of electron cyclotron heating exceeds a certain threshold. It is shown for the first time that the complete stabilization of the energetic-particle-driven mode without relaxing the energetic particle (EP) pressure gradient is possible by reducing the radial width of the eigenmodes δ_{w}, especially when δ_{w} narrows to a small enough value relative to the finite orbit width of EP.

In a collisionless plasma, it is known that linearly stable modes can be destabilized (subcritically) by the presence of structures in phase space. However, nonlinear growth requires the presence of a seed structure with a relatively large threshold in amplitude. We demonstrate that, in the presence of another, linearly unstable (supercritical) mode, wave-wave coupling can provide a seed, which is significantly below the threshold, but can still grow by (and only by) the collaboration of fluid and kinetic nonlinearities. By modeling the subcritical mode kinetically, and the impact of the supercritical mode by simple wave-wave coupling equations, it is shown that this new kind of subcritical instability can be triggered, even when the frequency of the supercritical mode is rapidly sweeping. The model is applied to the bursty onset of geodesic acoustic modes in a LHD experiment. The model recovers several key features such as relative amplitude, time scales, and phase relations. It suggests that the strongest bursts are subcritical instabilities, driven by this mechanism of combined fluid and kinetic nonlinearities.

Abrupt and strong excitation of a mode has been observed when the frequency of a chirping energetic-particle driven geodesic acoustic mode (EGAM) reaches twice the geodesic acoustic mode (GAM) frequency. The frequency of the secondary mode is the GAM frequency, which is a half-frequency of the primary EGAM. Based on the analysis of spatial structures, the secondary mode is identified as a GAM. The phase relation between the secondary mode and the primary EGAM is locked, and the evolution of the growth rate of the secondary mode indicates nonlinear excitation. The results suggest that the primary mode (EGAM) contributes to nonlinear destabilization of a subcritical mode.

A new bursting m=1/n=1 instability (m,n: poloidal and toroidal mode numbers) with rapid frequency chirping down has been observed for the first time in a helical plasma with intense perpendicular neutral beam injection. This is destabilized in the plasma peripheral region by resonant interaction between helically trapped energetic ions and the resistive interchange mode. A large radial electric field is induced near the edge due to enhanced radial transport of the trapped energetic ions by the mode, and leads to clear change in toroidal plasma flow, suppression of microturbulence, and triggering an improvement of bulk plasma confinement.

In this Letter, we report analyses of spatiotemporal dynamics of turbulence and structure in the limit-cycle oscillation (LCO) that precedes an L-to-H transition. Zonal flows are not observed during LCO, and the oscillation is the periodic generations or decays of barrier with edge-localized mean flow. Oscillatory Reynolds stress is found to be too small to accelerate the LCO flow, by considering the dielectric constant in magnetized toroidal plasmas. Propagation of changes of the density gradient and turbulence amplitude into the core is also observed.

This Letter presents the discovery of macroscale electron temperature fluctuations with a long radial correlation length comparable to the plasma minor radius in a toroidal plasma. Their spatiotemporal structure is characterized by a low frequency of ∼1-3  kHz, ballistic radial propagation, a poloidal or toroidal mode number of m/n=1/1 (or 2/1), and an amplitude of ∼2% at maximum. Nonlinear coupling between the long-range fluctuations and the microscopic fluctuations is identified. A change of the amplitude of the long-range fluctuation is transmitted across the plasma radius at the velocity which is of the order of the drift velocity.

Reversed-shear Alfvén eigenmodes were observed for the first time in a helical plasma having negative q₀'' (the curvature of the safety factor q at the zero shear layer). The frequency is swept downward and upward sequentially via the time variation in the maximum of q. The eigenmodes calculated by ideal MHD theory are consistent with the experimental data. The frequency sweeping is mainly determined by the effects of energetic ions and the bulk pressure gradient. Coupling of reversed-shear Alfvén eigenmodes with energetic ion driven geodesic acoustic modes generates a multitude of frequency-sweeping modes.

When Ohmically heated low-density plasmas are additionally heated by higher-harmonics ion-cyclotron-range-of frequency heating, heated by neutral beam injection, or strongly gas puffed, the intensity of zonal flows in the geodesic acoustic mode frequency range in the tokamak core plasma decreases sharply and that of low-frequency zonal flow grows drastically. This is accompanied by a damping of the drift wave propagating in the electron diamagnetic drift direction, turbulence by trapped electron mode (TEM), and the increase of the mode propagating to ion diamagnetic drift direction (ITG). In the half-radius region, TEM and high-frequency zonal flows remain intense in both OH and heated phases. ITG and low-frequency zonal flows grow in heated plasmas, suggesting a strong coupling between ITG and low-frequency zonal flow.

Aided by ultrahigh resolution spectroscopy, the overall systematic uncertainty of the 1S0-3P0 clock resonance for lattice-confined 87Sr has been characterized to 9 x 10(-16). This uncertainty is at a level similar to the Cs-fountain primary standard, while the potential stability for the lattice clocks exceeds that of Cs. The absolute frequency of the clock transition has been measured to be 429 228 004 229 874.0(1.1) Hz, where the 2.5 x 10(-15) fractional uncertainty represents the most accurate measurement of a neutral-atom-based optical transition frequency to date.

With ultracold 88Sr in a 1D magic wavelength optical lattice, we performed narrow-line photoassociation spectroscopy near the 1S0 - 3P1 intercombination transition. Nine least-bound vibrational molecular levels associated with the long-range 0u and 1u potential energy surfaces were measured and identified. A simple theoretical model accurately describes the level positions and treats the effects of the lattice confinement on the line shapes. The measured resonance strengths show that optical tuning of the ground state scattering length should be possible without significant atom loss.

It is shown that the low-density Ohmically heated tokamak plasmas have streamerlike eddies at the outer region at normalized minor radius of about 0.7 and high-frequency zonal flows of large amplitudes in the core. The amplitudes of the eddies ePhi/kT(e) and n(e)/n(e) are of order of 0.5, similar to that of blobs in the tokamak plasma boundary. The waveforms are featured by pulses of complex shape with sharp fronts, similar to the results of streamer simulations by Garbet et al.. The time constant of the fronts is also in agreement with the simulation. The radial span of the eddies is estimated to be much larger than the poloidal span.

With ultracold 87Srconfined in a magic wavelength optical lattice, we present the most precise study (2.8 Hz statistical uncertainty) to date of the 1S0-3P0 optical clock transition with a detailed analysis of systematic shifts (19 Hz uncertainty) in the absolute frequency measurement of 429 228 004 229 869 Hz. The high resolution permits an investigation of the optical lattice motional sideband structure. The local oscillator for this optical atomic clock is a stable diode laser with its hertz-level linewidth characterized by an octave-spanning femtosecond frequency comb.

Two types of electrostatic modes with small-poloidal wave numbers (approximately 1 and 10-15 kHz) are observed in the edge region of Ohmically heated plasmas in the JFT-2M tokamak. The envelope of the higher frequency coherent mode is modulated at the frequency of the lower frequency mode. A bispectral analysis revealed that a significant nonlinear coupling among the two types of fluctuations and the broadband background turbulent potential fluctuations occurs inside the last closed magnetic flux surface, suggesting that a nonlinear process such as the parametric-modulational instability is involved.

An optical atomic clock scheme is proposed that utilizes two lasers to establish coherent coupling between the 5s2 1S0 ground state of 88Sr and the first excited state, 5s5p 3P0. The coupling is mediated by the broad 5s5p 1P1 state, exploiting the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency. The effective linewidth of the clock transition can be chosen at will by adjusting the laser intensity. By trapping the 88Sr atoms in an optical lattice, long interaction times with the two lasers are ensured; Doppler and recoil effects are eliminated. Based on a careful analysis of systematic errors, a clock accuracy of better than 2 x 10(-17) is expected.

By varying the density of an ultracold 88Sr sample from 10(9) to>10(12) cm(-3), we make the first definitive measurement of the density-related frequency shift and linewidth broadening of the 1S0-3P1 optical clock transition in an alkaline earth system. In addition, we report the most accurate measurement to date of the 88Sr 1S0-3P1 optical clock transition frequency. Including a detailed analysis of systematic errors, the frequency is [434 829 121 312 334+/-20(stat)+/-33(syst)] Hz.

We present an extensive study of the unique thermal and mechanical dynamics for narrow-line cooling on the 1S0-3P1 88Sr transition. For negative detuning, trap dynamics reveal a transition from the semiclassical regime to the photon-recoil-dominated quantum regime, yielding an absolute minima in the equilibrium temperature below the single-photon-recoil limit. For positive detuning, the cloud divides into discrete momentum packets whose alignment mimics lattice points on a face-centered-cubic crystal. This novel behavior arises from velocity selection and "positive feedback" acceleration due to a finite number of photon recoils. Cooling is also achieved with blue-detuned light around a velocity where gravity balances the radiative force.

Recoil-free as well as Doppler-free spectroscopy was demonstrated on the 1S0-3P1 transition of Sr atoms confined in a one-dimensional optical lattice. By investigating the wavelength and polarization dependence of the ac Stark shift acting on the 1S0 and 3P1(m(J)=0) states, we determined the wavelength where the Stark shifts for both states coincide. This Stark-free optical lattice, allowing the purturbation-free spectroscopy of trapped atoms, may keep neutral-atom based optical standards competitive with single-ion standards.

Sawtooth oscillations have been observed in current-carrying helical plasmas by using electron-cyclotron-emission diagnostics in the Large Helical Device. The plasma current, which is driven by neutral beam injection, reduces the beta threshold of the sawtooth oscillation. When the central q value is increased due to the plasma current, the core region crashes, and, when it is decreased, the edge region crashes annularly. Observed rapid mixture of the plasma in the limited region suggests that these sawtooth crashes are reconnection phenomena. Unlike previous experiments, no precursor oscillation has been observed.

A dynamic magneto-optical trap, which relies on the rapid randomization of population in Zeeman substates, has been demonstrated for fermionic strontium atoms on the 1S0-3P1 intercombination transition. The obtained sample, 1x10(6) atoms at a temperature of 2 microK in the trap, was further Doppler cooled and polarized in a far-off resonant optical lattice to achieve 2 times the Fermi temperature.

The fast potential change near the separatrix is measured directly at the L-H transition by a heavy-ion-beam probe. The potential changes with two different time scales at the L-H transition triggered by a sawtooth crash: it drops at first with the time scale of 10--100 mus just after the arrival of the heat pulse due to the sawtooth crash. Then, it decreases again at a few 100 mus after the first drop at a time scale of about 200 mus.