Particle orbit description of cyclotron-driven current-carrying energetic electrons in the EXL-50 spherical torus

Abstract

Abstract In EXL-50 plasma currents over 100 kA are non-inductively generated and maintained solely by electron cyclotron heating (ECH) power with an efficiency of ∼1 A W−1. These currents are carried by energetic electrons (EEs) in the energy range from several tens of keV up to several hundreds of keV which also account for almost all pressure in plasma. This EE component can be viewed as a large number collection of various periodic orbits of energetic particles. Based on this picture we have developed a method for particle orbit description of the EE component in a typical plasma at I P = 121 kA as analysis target. We use a fluid description as a bridge to describe successfully the EE component as a collection of various passing and trapped orbits in the approximation of monochromatic particle energy with good matching to the flux loop signals. The description has revealed characteristics of passing and trapped particles. Passing particles carry almost all toroidal current, while they account for only 20 % of total particle number of the EE component. While net current carried by trapped particles is a very small fraction, they account for a major fraction in number and carry a large positive current outside the last closed flux surface (LCFS) and a large negative current inside. As a result, trapped particles redistribute the current from inside of the LCFS to outside both radially and vertically, generating a large vertically elongated cross section in current as well as number density profiles. There is a ridge-like structure along the LCFS in the current density profile, with no such structure in the number density profile. The results suggest that forward passing particles are more advantageous in confinement than backward passing particles. This advantage increases with particle energy and contributes to the current generation observed in EXL-50 experiments.