The use of D–D reactions to diagnose the lifetime of spin polarized fuel
If the nuclei remain polarized, spin polarized fuel can increase the fusion power produced in a reactor while using less fuel. This study assesses whether reactions between an unpolarized deuterium (D) beam and polarized deuterium nuclei can in principle experimentally ascertain the persistence of n...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Nuclear Fusion |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/adb59b |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850235518550278144 |
|---|---|
| author | A. Garcia W.W. Heidbrink A.M. Sandorfi |
| author_facet | A. Garcia W.W. Heidbrink A.M. Sandorfi |
| author_sort | A. Garcia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | If the nuclei remain polarized, spin polarized fuel can increase the fusion power produced in a reactor while using less fuel. This study assesses whether reactions between an unpolarized deuterium (D) beam and polarized deuterium nuclei can in principle experimentally ascertain the persistence of nuclear polarization in a magnetic fusion experiment. The differential cross section for D–D reactions between unpolarized and polarized nuclei depends upon polarization, so the polarization state can be inferred from measurements of the D–D fusion products. An evaluation is performed for 3 MeV proton detection in the DIII-D tokamak using 81 keV neutral beams and polarized target fuel injected as a pellet. Measurement of the escaping proton pitch $v_{3,\parallel}/v_3$ is insensitive to the degree of polarization but energy-resolved measurements are sensitive. The sensitivity is comparable for different angles of beam injection. Because the D–D reaction rate is large for this scenario, uncertainties associated with counting statistics are small, making inference of the polarization feasible with current technology. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e3419c300be442fa864a59f87abdbf38 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0029-5515 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nuclear Fusion |
| spelling | doaj-art-e3419c300be442fa864a59f87abdbf382025-08-20T02:02:13ZengIOP PublishingNuclear Fusion0029-55152025-01-0165404600510.1088/1741-4326/adb59bThe use of D–D reactions to diagnose the lifetime of spin polarized fuelA. Garcia0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8647-2727W.W. Heidbrink1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6942-8043A.M. Sandorfi2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8309-8581Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education , Oak Ridge, TN 37830, United States of America; Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08540, United States of AmericaDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Irvine, CA 92617, United States of AmericaPhysics Department, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904, United States of AmericaIf the nuclei remain polarized, spin polarized fuel can increase the fusion power produced in a reactor while using less fuel. This study assesses whether reactions between an unpolarized deuterium (D) beam and polarized deuterium nuclei can in principle experimentally ascertain the persistence of nuclear polarization in a magnetic fusion experiment. The differential cross section for D–D reactions between unpolarized and polarized nuclei depends upon polarization, so the polarization state can be inferred from measurements of the D–D fusion products. An evaluation is performed for 3 MeV proton detection in the DIII-D tokamak using 81 keV neutral beams and polarized target fuel injected as a pellet. Measurement of the escaping proton pitch $v_{3,\parallel}/v_3$ is insensitive to the degree of polarization but energy-resolved measurements are sensitive. The sensitivity is comparable for different angles of beam injection. Because the D–D reaction rate is large for this scenario, uncertainties associated with counting statistics are small, making inference of the polarization feasible with current technology.https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/adb59bspin polarized fusionD–D reactionscharged fusion product diagnosticsDIII-D tokamak |
| spellingShingle | A. Garcia W.W. Heidbrink A.M. Sandorfi The use of D–D reactions to diagnose the lifetime of spin polarized fuel Nuclear Fusion spin polarized fusion D–D reactions charged fusion product diagnostics DIII-D tokamak |
| title | The use of D–D reactions to diagnose the lifetime of spin polarized fuel |
| title_full | The use of D–D reactions to diagnose the lifetime of spin polarized fuel |
| title_fullStr | The use of D–D reactions to diagnose the lifetime of spin polarized fuel |
| title_full_unstemmed | The use of D–D reactions to diagnose the lifetime of spin polarized fuel |
| title_short | The use of D–D reactions to diagnose the lifetime of spin polarized fuel |
| title_sort | use of d d reactions to diagnose the lifetime of spin polarized fuel |
| topic | spin polarized fusion D–D reactions charged fusion product diagnostics DIII-D tokamak |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/adb59b |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT agarcia theuseofddreactionstodiagnosethelifetimeofspinpolarizedfuel AT wwheidbrink theuseofddreactionstodiagnosethelifetimeofspinpolarizedfuel AT amsandorfi theuseofddreactionstodiagnosethelifetimeofspinpolarizedfuel AT agarcia useofddreactionstodiagnosethelifetimeofspinpolarizedfuel AT wwheidbrink useofddreactionstodiagnosethelifetimeofspinpolarizedfuel AT amsandorfi useofddreactionstodiagnosethelifetimeofspinpolarizedfuel |