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A. Kirk

Publications and source records attributed to A. Kirk.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
arXiv2012

Kinetic instabilities that limit β in the edge of a tokamak plasma: a picture of an H-mode pedestal

Plasma equilibria reconstructed from the Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) have sufficient resolution to capture plasma evolution during the short period between edge-localized modes (ELMs). Immediately after the ELM steep gradients in pressure, P, and density, ne, form pedestals close to the separatrix, and they then expand into the core. Local gyrokinetic analysis over the ELM cycle reveals the dominant microinstabilities at perpendicular wavelengths of the order of the ion Larmor radius. These are kinetic ballooning modes (KBMs) in the pedestal and microtearing modes (MTMs) in the core close to the pedestal top. The evolving growth rate spectra, supported by gyrokinetic analysis using artificial local equilibrium scans, suggest a new physical picture for the formation and arrest of this pedestal.

physics.plasm-ph↗
arXiv2012

Observation of lobes near the X-point in resonant magnetic perturbation experiments on MAST

The application of non-axisymmetric resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) with a toroidal mode number n=6 in the MAST tokamak produces a significant reduction in plasma energy loss associated with type-I Edge Localized Modes (ELMs), the first such observation with n>3. During the ELM mitigated stage clear lobe structures are observed in visible-light imaging of the X-point region. These lobes or manifold structures, that were predicted previously, have been observed for the first time in a range of discharges and their appearance is correlated with the effect of RMPs on the plasma i.e. they only appear above a threshold when a density pump out is observed or when the ELM frequency is increased. They appear to be correlated with the RMPs penetrating the plasma and may be important in explaining why the ELM frequency increases. The number and location of the structures observed can be well described using vacuum modelling. Differences in radial extent and poloidal width from vacuum modelling are likely to be due to a combination of transport effects and plasma screening.

physics.plasm-ph↗
arXiv2011

Towards the construction of a model to describe the inter-ELM evolution of the pedestal on MAST

Pedestal profiles that span the ELM cycle have been obtained and used to test the idea that the pedestal pressure gradient in MAST is limited by the onset of Kinetic Ballooning Modes (KBMs). During the inter-ELM period of a regularly type I ELM-ing discharge on MAST, the pressure pedestal height and width increase together while the pressure gradient increases by only 15 % during the ELM cycle. Stability analyses show that the pedestal region over which infinite-n ballooning modes are unstable also broadens during the ELM cycle. To test the relationship between the width of the region that is unstable to n = \infty ideal magnetohydrodynamic ballooning modes and KBMs the gyrokinetic code, GS2, has been used for microstability analysis of the edge plasma region in MAST. The gyrokinetic simulations find that KBM modes with twisting parity are the dominant microinstabilities in the steep pedestal region, with a transition to more slowly growing tearing parity modes in the shallower pressure gradient core region immediately inside the pedestal top. The region over which KBMs are unstable increases during the ELM cycle, and a good correlation is found between the regions unstable to KBMs and infinite-n ideal ballooning modes.

physics.plasm-ph↗
arXiv2001

Large Isospin mixing in phi radiative decay and the spatial size of the f0(980)- a0(980) meson

The measured rate for phi to gamma f0(980) appears to be larger than allowed on rather general grounds. We show that mixing between the f0(980) and a0(980), due to their dynamical interaction with the nearby KKbar thresholds, radically affects some existing predictions of their production in phi radiative decay. We predict that Gamma(phi to gamma f0)/Gamma(phi to gamma a_0) approx 3; that sum (b.r.(phi to gamma f0) + b.r. (phi to gamma a_0)) < 5 x 10^-4 with probable individual branching ratios 2 x 10^-4 and 0.7 x 10^-4 respectively.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2001

Scalar Glueball-qqbar Mixing above 1 GeV and implications for Lattice QCD

Lattice QCD predictions have motivated several recent studies of the mixing between the predicted JPC = 0++ glueball and a qqbar nonet in the 1.3 to 1.7 GeV region. We show that results from apparently different approaches have some common features, explain why this is so and abstract general conclusions. We place particular emphasis on the flavour dependent constraints imposed by decays of the f0(1370), f0(1500) and f0(1700) to all pairs of pseudoscalar mesons. From these results we identify a systematic correlation between glueball mass, mixing, and flavour symmetry breaking and conclude that the glueball may be rather lighter than some quenched lattice QCD computations have suggested. We identify experimental tests that can determine the dynamics of a glueball in this mass region and discuss quantitatively the feasibility of decoding glueball-qqbar mixing.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2000

The mixing of the f0(1370), f0(1500) and f0(1710) and the search for the scalar glueball

For the first time a complete data set of the two-body decays of the f0(1370), f0(1500) and f0(1710) into all pseudoscalar mesons is available. The implications of these data for the flavour content for these three f0 states is studied. We find that they are in accord with the hypothesis that the scalar glueball of lattice QCD mixes with the qqbar nonet that also exists in its immediate vicinity. We show that this solution also is compatible with the relative production strengths of the f0(1370), f0(1500) and f0(1710) in pp central production, ppbar annihilations and J/psi radiative decays.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2000

Isospin breaking exposed in f0(980)- a0(980) mixing

We suggest that mixing between the f0(980) and a0(980), due to their dynamical interaction with the nearby KKbar thresholds, can give rise to a significantly enhanced production rate of a0(980) relative to a2(1320) in pp -> ps (eta pi0) pf as xF -> 0. The peaking of the cross section as phi -> 0 should also occur. We show that such effects are seen in data and deduce that the f0(980) - a0(980) mixing intensity is 8 +/- 3 %.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2000

Resonance production in central pp collisions at the CERN Omega Spectrometer

A study of resonance production in central pp collisions is presented as a function of several kinematical variables. In particular the difference in the transverse momentum (dPT) of the exchanged particles shows that undisputed qqbar mesons are suppressed at small dPT whereas glueball candidates are enhanced and in addition, the azimuthal angle phi gives information on the nature of the Pomeron.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2000

The mixing of the f0(1370), f0(1500) and f0(1710) and the search for the scalar glueball

For the first time a complete data set of the two-body decays of the f0(1370), f0(1500) and f0(1710) into all pseudoscalar mesons is available. The implications of these data for the flavour content for these three f0 states is studied. We find that they are in accord with the hypothesis that the scalar glueball of lattice QCD mixes with the qqbar nonet that also exists in its immediate vicinity. We show that this solution also is compatible with the relative production strengths of the f0(1370), f0(1500) and f0(1710) in pp central production, ppbar annihilations and J/psi radiative decays.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1999

A glueball-qqbar filter in central production

A study of central meson production as a function of the difference in transverse momentum (dPT) of the exchanged particles shows that undisputed qqbar mesons are suppressed at small dPT whereas the glueball candidates are enhanced and that the production cross section for different resonances depends strongly on the azimuthal angle between the two outgoing protons.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1999

New effects observed in central production by experiment WA102 at the CERN Omega Spectrometer

A partial wave analysis of the centrally produced KK and pipi systems shows that the fJ(1710) has J = 0. In addition, a study of central meson production as a function of the difference in transverse momentum (dPT) of the exchanged particles shows that undisputed qqbar mesons are suppressed at small dPT whereas the glueball candidates are enhanced and that the production cross section for different resonances depends strongly on the azimuthal angle between the two outgoing protons.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1999

The spin of the $f_J(1710)$ and new effects observed in the WA102 experiment

A partial wave analysis of the centrally produced KK and pipi systems shows that the fJ(1710) has J = 0. In addition, a study of central meson production as a function of the difference in transverse momentum (dPT) of the exchanged particles shows that undisputed qqbar mesons are suppressed at small dPT whereas the glueball candidates are enhanced and that the production cross section for different resonances depends strongly on the azimuthal angle between the two outgoing protons.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1999

New results from experiment WA102: A partial wave analysis of the centrally produced KK and pipi systems

A partial wave analysis of the centrally produced KK and pipi systems shows that the fJ(1710) has J = 0. In addition, a study of central meson production as a function of the difference in transverse momentum (dPT) of the exchanged particles shows that undisputed qqbar mesons are suppressed at small dPT whereas the glueball candidates are enhanced and that the production cross section for different resonances depends strongly on the azimuthal angle between the two outgoing protons.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1998

A study of Double Pomeron Exchange in ALICE

The non-Abelian nature of QCD suggests that particles that have a gluon constituent, such as glueballs or hybrids, should exist. Experiments WA76, WA91 and WA102 have performed a dedicated search for these states in central production using the CERN Omega Spectrometer. New results from central production show that there is a kinematical filter which can select out glueball candidates from known qqbar states. A further study of this at high energies is essential in order to get information on the M(X0) > 2 GeV region. This paper describes how this could be done using the the ALICE detector at the LHC.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1998

A search for non-qqbar mesons at the CERN Omega Spectrometer

The non-Abelian nature of QCD suggests that particles that have a gluon constituent, such as glueballs or hybrids, should exist. Experiments WA76, WA91 and WA102 have performed a dedicated search for these states in central production using the CERN Omega Spectrometer. Several non-qqbar candidates have been observed. This paper presents a study of central meson production as a function of the difference in transverse momentum (dPT) of the exchanged particles which shows that undisputed qqbar mesons are suppressed at small dPT whereas the glueball candidates are enhanced.

hep-ex↗