First measurements of energetic protons in Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak Upgrade (MAST-U).

First proton production rates from the d(d,p)t reaction in the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak Upgrade (MAST-U) are measured. The data were taken during the MAST-U experimental campaign with an upgraded version of the proton detector (PD) previously used in MAST. The new detector array consists of three collimated silicon surface barrier detectors with a depletion depth of 300 µm and a collimated 120 µm thick diamond detector, mounted on the MAST-U reciprocating probe arm. This array measures the energies of unconfined energetic 3 MeV protons and 1 MeV tritons mainly produced by beam-thermal DD reactions during neutral beam injection heating. Diamond detectors have the potential to be uniquely suited to detect charged fusion products as they promise to be much more radiation resistant and much less sensitive to temperature variations compared to silicon-based detectors. Using silicon and diamond-based detectors simultaneously allowed us to directly compare the performance of these two detector types. PD particle rates measured during different plasma scenarios are presented and compared to neutron rates measured using the neutron camera upgrade and TRANSP predictions.

Ruling out Color Transparency in Quasielastic

Quasielastic ^{12}C(e,e^{'}p) scattering was measured at spacelike 4-momentum transfer squared Q^{2}=8, 9.4, 11.4, and 14.2 (GeV/c)^{2}, the highest ever achieved to date. Nuclear transparency for this reaction was extracted by comparing the measured yield to that expected from a plane-wave impulse approximation calculation without any final state interactions. The measured transparency was consistent with no Q^{2} dependence, up to proton momenta of 8.5 GeV/c, ruling out the quantum chromodynamics effect of color transparency at the measured Q^{2} scales in exclusive (e,e^{'}p) reactions. These results impose strict constraints on models of color transparency for protons.

Probing the Deuteron at Very Large Internal Momenta.

We measure ^{2}H(e,e^{'}p)n cross sections at 4-momentum transfers of Q^{2}=4.5±0.5 (GeV/c)^{2} over a range of neutron recoil momenta p_{r}, reaching up to ∼1.0 GeV/c. We obtain data at fixed neutron recoil angles θ_{nq}=35°, 45°, and 75° with respect to the 3-momentum transfer q[over →]. The new data agree well with previous data, which reached p_{r}∼500 MeV/c. At θ_{nq}=35° and 45°, final state interactions, meson exchange currents, and isobar currents are suppressed and the plane wave impulse approximation provides the dominant cross section contribution. We compare the new data to recent theoretical calculations, where we observe a significant discrepancy for recoil momenta p_{r}>700 MeV/c.

Plasma diagnostics in spherical tokamaks with silicon charged-particle detectors.

Detection of charged fusion products, such as protons and tritons resulting from D(d, p) t reactions, can be used to determine the position and time dependent fusion reaction rate profile in spherical tokamak plasmas with neutral beam heating. We have developed a prototype instrument consisting of 6 ion-implanted-silicon surface barrier detectors combined with collimators in such a way that each detector can accept 3 MeV protons and 1 MeV tritons and thus provides a curved view across the plasma cross section. The combination of the results from all six detectors will provide information on the spatial distribution of the fusion reaction rate. The expected time resolution of about 1 ms makes it possible to study changes in the reaction rate due to slow variations in the neutral beam density profile, as well as rapid changes resulting from MHD instabilities. Details of the new instrument, its data acquisition system, simulation results, and electrical noise testing results are discussed in this paper. First experimental data are expected to be taken during the current experimental campaign at NSTX-U.

Investigating fusion plasma instabilities in the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak using mega electron volt proton emissions (invited).

The proton detector (PD) measures 3 MeV proton yield distributions from deuterium-deuterium fusion reactions within the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST). The PD's compact four-channel system of collimated and individually oriented silicon detectors probes different regions of the plasma, detecting protons (with gyro radii large enough to be unconfined) leaving the plasma on curved trajectories during neutral beam injection. From first PD data obtained during plasma operation in 2013, proton production rates (up to several hundred kHz and 1 ms time resolution) during sawtooth events were compared to the corresponding MAST neutron camera data. Fitted proton emission profiles in the poloidal plane demonstrate the capabilities of this new system.

Probing the high momentum component of the deuteron at high Q2.

The (2)H(e,e'p)n cross section at a momentum transfer of 3.5 (GeV/c)(2) was measured over a kinematical range that made it possible to study this reaction for a set of fixed missing momenta as a function of the neutron recoil angle θ(nq) and to extract missing momentum distributions for fixed values of θ(nq) up to 0.55 GeV/c. In the region of 35°≤θ(nq)≤45° recent calculations, which predict that final-state interactions are small, agree reasonably well with the experimental data. Therefore, these experimental reduced cross sections provide direct access to the high momentum component of the deuteron momentum distribution in exclusive deuteron electrodisintegration.

Concept of a charged fusion product diagnostic for NSTX.

The concept of a new diagnostic for NSTX to determine the time dependent charged fusion product emission profile using an array of semiconductor detectors is presented. The expected time resolution of 1-2 ms should make it possible to study the effect of magnetohydrodynamics and other plasma activities (toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes (TAE), neoclassical tearing modes (NTM), edge localized modes (ELM), etc.) on the radial transport of neutral beam ions. First simulation results of deuterium-deuterium (DD) fusion proton yields for different detector arrangements and methods for inverting the simulated data to obtain the emission profile are discussed.

High-resolution spectroscopy of Lambda16N by electroproduction.

An experimental study of the (16)O(e,e'K(+))(Lambda)(16)N reaction has been performed at Jefferson Lab. A thin film of falling water was used as a target. This permitted a simultaneous measurement of the p(e,e'K(+))Lambda, Sigma(0) exclusive reactions and a precise calibration of the energy scale. A ground-state binding energy of 13.76+/-0.16 MeV was obtained for (Lambda)(16)N with better precision than previous measurements on the mirror hypernucleus (Lambda)(16)O. Precise energies have been determined for peaks arising from a Lambda in s and p orbits coupled to the p(1/2) and p(3/2) hole states of the (15)N core nucleus.

Three-dimensional reconstruction of dust particle trajectories in the NSTX.

Highly mobile incandescent dust particles are routinely observed on NSTX using two fast cameras operating in the visible region. An analysis method to reconstruct dust particle trajectories in space using two fast cameras is presented in this paper. Position accuracies of a few millimeters depending on the particle's location have been achieved and particle velocities between 10 and 200 ms have been observed.

High resolution spectroscopy of (lambda)(12)B by electroproduction.

An experiment measuring electroproduction of hypernuclei has been performed in hall A at Jefferson Lab on a 12C target. In order to increase counting rates and provide unambiguous kaon identification two superconducting septum magnets and a ring imaging Cherenkov detector were added to the hall A standard equipment. An unprecedented energy resolution of less than 700 keV FWHM has been achieved. Thus, the observed (Lambda)(12)B spectrum shows for the first time identifiable strength in the core-excited region between the ground-state s-wave Lambda peak and the 11 MeV p-wave Lambda peak.

Onset of quark-hadron duality in pion electroproduction.

A large data set of charged-pion (pi+/-) electroproduction from both hydrogen and deuterium targets has been obtained spanning the low-energy residual-mass region. These data conclusively show the onset of the quark-hadron duality phenomenon, as predicted for high-energy hadron electroproduction. We construct several ratios from these data to exhibit the relation of this phenomenon to the high-energy factorization ansatz of electron-quark scattering and subsequent quark-->pion production mechanisms.

Recoil polarization for delta excitation in pion electroproduction.

We measured angular distributions of recoil-polarization response functions for neutral pion electroproduction for W = 1.23 GeV at Q(2) = 1.0 (GeV/c)(2), obtaining 14 separated response functions plus 2 Rosenbluth combinations; of these, 12 have been observed for the first time. Dynamical models do not describe quantities governed by imaginary parts of interference products well, indicating the need for adjusting magnitudes and phases for nonresonant amplitudes. We performed a nearly model-independent multipole analysis and obtained values for Re (S(1+)/M(1+)) = -(6.84 +/- 0.15)% and Re (E(1+)/M(1+)) = -(2.91 +/- 0.19)% that are distinctly different from those from the traditional Legendre analysis based upon M1+ dominance and ll(pi) < or = 1 truncation.

Quasielastic 3He(e,e'p)2H reaction at Q2 = 1.5 GeV2 for recoil momenta up to 1 GeV/c.

We have studied the quasielastic 3He(e,e(')p)2H reaction in perpendicular coplanar kinematics, with the energy and the momentum transferred by the electron fixed at 840 MeV and 1502 MeV/c, respectively. The 3He(e,e(')p)2H cross section was measured for missing momenta up to 1000 MeV/c, while the A(TL) asymmetry was extracted for missing momenta up to 660 MeV/c. For missing momenta up to 150 MeV/c, the cross section is described by variational calculations using modern 3He wave functions. For missing momenta from 150 to 750 MeV/c, strong final-state interaction effects are observed. Near 1000 MeV/c, the experimental cross section is more than an order of magnitude larger than predicted by available theories. The A(TL) asymmetry displays characteristic features of broken factorization with a structure that is similar to that generated by available models.

Measurement of the 3He(e,e'p)pn reaction at high missing energies and momenta.

Results of the Jefferson Lab Hall A quasielastic 3He(e,e'p)pn measurements are presented. These measurements were performed at fixed transferred momentum and energy, q=1502 MeV/c and omega=840 MeV, respectively, for missing momenta p(m) up to 1 GeV/c and missing energies in the continuum region, up to pion threshold; this kinematic coverage is much more extensive than that of any previous experiment. The cross section data are presented along with the effective momentum density distribution and compared to theoretical models.

Measurement of the generalized polarizabilities of the proton in virtual Compton scattering at Q2=0.92 and 1.76 GeV2.

We report a virtual Compton scattering study of the proton at low c.m. energies. We have determined the structure functions P(LL)-P(TT)/epsilon and P(LT), and the electric and magnetic generalized polarizabilities (GPs) alpha(E)(Q2) and beta(M)(Q2) at momentum transfer Q(2)=0.92 and 1.76 GeV2. The electric GP shows a strong falloff with Q2, and its global behavior does not follow a simple dipole form. The magnetic GP shows a rise and then a falloff; this can be interpreted as the dominance of a long-distance diamagnetic pion cloud at low Q2, compensated at higher Q2 by a paramagnetic contribution from piN intermediate states.

Dynamics of the 16O(e, e'p) reaction at high missing energies.

We measured the cross section and response functions for the quasielastic 16O(e,e'p) reaction for missing energies 25< or =E(m)< or =120 MeV at missing momenta P(m)< or =340 MeV/c. For 25