Alpha particle loss measurements and analysis in JET DT plasmas

Abstract

Burning reactor plasmas will be self-heated by fusion born alpha particles from deuterium-tritium reactions. Consequently, a thorough understanding of the confinement and transport of DT-born alpha particles is necessary to maintain the plasma self-heating. Measurements of fast ion losses provide a direct means to monitor alpha particle confinement. JET’s 2021–2022 second experimental DT-campaign offers burning plasma scenarios with advanced fast ion loss diagnostics for the first time in nearly 25 years. Coherent and non-coherent alpha losses were observed due to a variety of low frequency MHD activity. This manuscript will present the loss mechanisms, spatial and pitch dependencies, scalings with plasma parameters, correlations with wall impurities, and magnitude of DT-alpha born losses.