Work

Study of runaway electrons during EAST plasma start-up

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Herein, the generation and loss of runaway electrons (REs) during the plasma start-up phase are observed in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). A dataset of nearly 400 ohmic discharges is established, and statistical analysis is employed to investigate the relationship between RE generation and key plasma parameters. It is observed that generation of REs is considerably suppressed under conditions of high plasma density and low loop voltage. REs are detected to be considerably in number when the ratio of the loop electric field to critical electric field, E loop / E c exceed 10 during the start-up phase. In addition, analysis of the correlation between plasma streaming parameters and E loop / E c reveals that a substantial population of REs is generated when electron temperature exceeds 700 eV. Moreover, a sudden drop in plasma current is observed to be consistent with the loss of REs, which is primarily due to macroscopic magnetohydrodynamics.

Source: Fusion Engineering and Design

DOI: 10.1016/j.fusengdes.2025.115232