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Anton Jansen van Vuuren (Swiss Plasma Center, EPFL)28/09/2026, 09:10Physics of energetic particle modes and transport IInvited
Energetic particles (EPs) are essential for plasma heating and current drive in present and future fusion devices, but their confinement can be degraded by Alfvén eigenmodes (AEs) and related instabilities [1]. Developing robust methods for AE control is therefore important for preserving EP confinement and reducing fast-ion losses in reactor-relevant regimes [2]. Recent experiments on the...
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Ken McClements (UKAEA)28/09/2026, 09:45Physics of energetic particle modes and transport IOral
Spontaneous, strongly supra-thermal ion cyclotron emission (ICE) at or close to multiple ion cyclotron harmonics has been detected in many magnetically-confined plasmas, and is usually attributed to velocity space inversion in an energetic ion population. It thus provides a passive diagnostic of these ions that can be combined with other measurements to enhance understanding of their...
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Pablo Oyola (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory)28/09/2026, 10:10Physics of energetic particle modes and transport IOral
Fast ions generated by neutral beam injection (NBI) or radio-frequency (RF) heating can resonantly interact with background plasma and excite Alfvénic eigenmodes (AEs), in turn leading to enhanced fast-ion transport and potential damage to reactor components [1]. The combined use of RF and NBI heating exhibits mixed effects on AE activity—mitigating or enhancing mode excitation in NSTX(-U)...
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James Oliver (UKAEA)29/09/2026, 11:20Physics of energetic particle modes and transport IIInvited
The Joint European Torus (JET) recently completed historic deuterium-tritium (D-T) campaigns, which provided unique opportunities to study burning plasma physics. Alfvén eigenmodes were excited by fusion-born α particles [1] in several high-performance plasmas with fusion power > 8 MW externally heated only by neutral beam injection at up to 32 MW [2]. These modes were absent in pure deuterium...
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Emma Devin (Princeton University)29/09/2026, 11:55Physics of energetic particle modes and transport IIOral
The kinetic destabilization of gap modes, e.g., toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes, results in both diffusive and convective transport of energetic particles [1]. In scenarios where fast relaxation events result in very rapid redistribution of fast ions or rapid changes to the mode resonance conditions, a mode can be excited in a regime far from the instability threshold. For example, strong Alfvén...
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Dr Jari Varje (Tokamak Energy Ltd)29/09/2026, 12:20Physics of energetic particle modes and transport IIOral
ST40 is a high-field spherical tokamak with a major radius up to 0.55 m and toroidal magnetic field up to 2.1 T, operating at plasma currents ranging from 0.2-1.0 MA. It is equipped with two neutral beam injectors (NBI) with 1.0 MW at 55 keV and 0.8 MW at 24 keV. Across the wide toroidal field range the fast ions from NBI can range from sub- to super-Alfvénic, driving a variety of Alfvénic...
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Dr Kyle Callahan (UCI)30/09/2026, 11:20Invited
An empirical method for inferring MHD-induced anomalous fast ion transport from normalized Electron Cyclotron Emission (ECE) temperature fluctuation measurements is reported. The model developed infers a time-dependent, spatially varying anomalous fast ion diffusion profile directly from normalized temperature fluctuations such that $D_{fast} \propto dT/T$. The model is coupled to the Monte...
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Sergei Sharapov (UK Atomic Energy Authority, UK)30/09/2026, 11:55Physics of energetic particle modes and transport IIIOral
The MAST-U spherical tokamak [1] with aspect ratio R/a [m] = 0.8/0.5, max B=0.72 T at 0.8 m, elongation up to 2.5, operated at 1 MA currents recent two years and delivered high D-D fusion beam-plasma performance. This performance was achieved with two deuterium NBI sources, one of which was on-axis, and the other - off-axis (shifted by 65 cm from the magnetic axis up). Of particular interest...
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Klara Bogar (Institute of Plasma Physics of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic)30/09/2026, 12:20Physics of energetic particle modes and transport IIIOral
Fast neutral beam injection into magnetically confined plasmas produces pairs of fast ions and electrons at their ionization location. While the electrons remain close to the ionization flux surface, fast ions experience substantially larger drift orbits, resulting in a radial displacement between positive and negative charges. This charge separation contributes to the formation of a radial...
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Mario Podesta02/10/2026, 11:20
Projecting fast ion dynamics from present devices to a fusion reactor requires a combination of experimental results and numerical models. Confidence in the models relies on their extensive validation to ensure that the underlying physics is correct, as well as to assess their range of validity and possible limitations. Experiments on TCV have revisited the physics of well-known instabilities...
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Mr Quentin Kernel (EPFL - Swiss Plasma Center)02/10/2026, 11:45Physics of energetic particle modes and transport IVInvited
Energetic-particle-driven instabilities can induce strong fast-ion redistribution and losses, thereby degrading plasma heating and confinement. This is a key concern for future burning plasmas such as ITER, where fusion-born alpha particles are expected to drive resonant wave-particle interactions. To limit these, it is important to understand the associated phase-space transport [1] and, more...
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Francesco Porcelli (Politecnico di Torino)02/10/2026, 12:20Physics of energetic particle modes and transport IVOral
An overview on Vertical Displacement Oscillatory Modes driven by fast ions is presented. These modes have been identified by analytic work in 2022 [1,2] and their existence for realistic tokamak geometry has been confirmed by numerical simulations using the NIMROD code [3]. Together with Global Alfvén Eigenmodes (GAE), VDOM are a candidate to explain the observation of axisymmetric, saturated...
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