arXiv subjects

D. Kennedy

Publications and source records attributed to D. Kennedy.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Zonal-flow generation and saturation of electromagnetic ion-scale turbulence in tokamaks

Local flux-tube gyrokinetic simulations of ion-scale turbulence in tokamak plasmas at finite plasma beta are conducted to investigate the generation of zonal flows via turbulent stresses. A parameter scan in the safety factor $q$ and electron beta $\beta_e$ reveals a transition from low- to high-transport states when $\beta_{\mathrm{eff}} \equiv q^2\beta_e$ exceeds a certain critical value $C_{\mathrm{nl}}$. While the linear stability limits for kinetic and ideal ballooning modes also scale as $\beta_e \propto 1/q^2$, they lie above the observed transition, indicating that the effect is not due to linear instabilities but to nonlinear dynamics. At low $\beta_{\mathrm{eff}}$, Reynolds stress dominates and drives zonal flows. At higher values, Maxwell stress becomes comparable, suppressing zonal-flow formation and leading to divergent transport. This nonlinear-transition boundary is determined for both the Cyclone Base Case and a spherical tokamak (ST40) configuration, suggesting that the relation $\beta_{\mathrm{eff}} = C_{\mathrm{nl}}$ may have broader applicability, though $C_{\mathrm{nl}}$ appears to be configuration-dependent. For the Cyclone Base Case, the ratio of energy transfer rates into zonal flows due to Maxwell and Reynolds stresses is observed empirically to scale as $\beta_e$ for $\beta_e$ below a critical value $\beta_{e,\mathrm{sb}}$ (scaling breakdown). The value of $\beta_{e,\mathrm{sb}}$ is found to increase with decreasing aspect ratio, suggesting that the linear scaling remains valid over a wider range of $\beta_e$ for more compact magnetic equilibria. This low-$\beta_e$ scaling provides the basis for a practical method to predict the nonlinear-transition threshold with minimal reliance on highly electromagnetic nonlinear simulations.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2024

$E\times B$ shear suppression of microtearing based transport in spherical tokamaks

Electromagnetic microtearing modes (MTMs) have been observed in many different spherical tokamak regimes. Understanding how these and other electromagnetic modes nonlinearly saturate is likely critical in understanding the confinement of a high $\beta$ spherical tokamak (ST). Equilibrium $E\times B$ sheared flows have sometimes been found to significantly suppress low $\beta$ ion scale transport in both gyrokinetic simulations and in experiment. This work aims to understand the conditions under which $E\times B$ sheared flow impacts on the saturation of MTM simulations. Two experimental regimes are examined from MAST and NSTX, on surfaces that have unstable MTMs. The MTM driven transport on a local flux surface in MAST is shown to be more resilient to suppression via $E\times B$ shear, compared to the case from NSTX where the MTM transport is found to be significantly suppressed. This difference in the response to flow shear is explained through the impact of magnetic shear, $\hat{s}$ on the MTM linear growth rate dependence on ballooning angle, $\theta_0$. At low $\hat{s}$, the growth rate depends weakly on $\theta_0$, but at higher $\hat{s}$, the MTM growth rate peaks at $\theta_0 = 0$, with regions of stability at higher $\theta_0$. Equilibrium $E\times B$ sheared flows act to advect the $\theta_0$ of a mode in time, providing a mechanism which suppresses the transport from these modes when they become stable. The dependence of $\gamma^{MTM}$ on $\theta_0$ is in qualitative agreement with a recent theory [M.R. Hardman et al (2023)] at low $\beta$ when $q\sim1$, but the agreement worsens at higher $q$ where the theory breaks down. This work highlights the important role of the safety factor profile in determining the impact of equilibrium $E\times B$ shear on the saturation level of MTM turbulence.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2024

Suppression of temperature-gradient-driven turbulence by sheared flows in fusion plasmas

Starting from the assumption that saturation of plasma turbulence driven by temperature-gradient instabilities in fusion plasmas is achieved by a local energy cascade between a long-wavelength outer scale, where energy is injected into the fluctuations, and a small-wavelength dissipation scale, where fluctuation energy is thermalised by particle collisions, we formulate a detailed phenomenological theory for the influence of perpendicular flow shear on magnetised-plasma turbulence. Our theory introduces two distinct regimes, called the weak-shear and strong-shear regimes, each with its own set of scaling laws for the scale and amplitude of the fluctuations and for the level of turbulent heat transport. We discover that the ratio of the typical radial and poloidal wavenumbers of the fluctuations (i.e., their aspect ratio) at the outer scale plays a central role in determining the dependence of the turbulent transport on the imposed flow shear. Our theoretical predictions are found to be in excellent agreement with numerical simulations of two paradigmatic models of fusion-relevant plasma turbulence: (i) an electrostatic fluid model of slab electron-scale turbulence, and (ii) Cyclone-base-case gyrokinetic ion-scale turbulence. Additionally, our theory envisions a potential mechanism for the suppression of electron-scale turbulence by perpendicular ion-scale flows based on the role of the aforementioned aspect ratio of the electron-scale fluctuations.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2024

A quasi-linear model of electromagnetic turbulent transport and its application to flux-driven transport predictions for STEP

A quasi-linear reduced transport model is developed from a database of high-$\beta$ electromagnetic nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations performed with Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) relevant parameters. The quasi-linear model is fully electromagnetic and accounts for the effect of equilibrium flow shear using a novel approach. Its flux predictions are shown to agree quantitatively with predictions from local nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations across a broad range of STEP-relevant local equilibria. This reduced transport model is implemented in the T3D transport solver that is used to perform the first flux-driven simulations for STEP to account for transport from hybrid-KBM turbulence, which dominates over a wide region of the core plasma. Nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of the final transport steady state from T3D return turbulent fluxes that are consistent with the reduced model, indicating that the quasi-linear model may also be appropriate for describing the transport steady state. Within the assumption considered here, our simulations support the existence of a transport steady state in STEP with a fusion power comparable to that in the burning flat-top of the conceptual design, but do not demonstrate how this state can be accessed.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2024

On the importance of parallel magnetic-field fluctuations for electromagnetic instabilities in STEP

[ABRIDGED] This paper discusses the importance of parallel perturbations of the magnetic-field in gyrokinetic simulations of electromagnetic instabilities and turbulence at mid-radius in the burning plasma phase of the conceptual high-$\beta$, reactor-scale, tight-aspect-ratio tokamak STEP. Previous studies have revealed the presence of unstable hybrid kinetic ballooning modes (hKBMs) at binormal scales approaching the ion Larmor radius. In this STEP plasma it was found that the hKBM requires the inclusion of parallel magnetic-field perturbations to be linearly unstable. Here, the extent to which the inclusion of fluctuations in the parallel magnetic-field can be relaxed is explored through gyrokinetic simulations. In particular, the frequently used MHD approximation (dropping $\delta \! B_{\parallel}$ and setting the $\nabla B$ drift frequency equal to the curvature drift frequency) is discussed and simulations explore whether this approximation is useful for modelling STEP plasmas. It is shown that the MHD approximation can reproduce some of the linear properties of the full STEP gyrokinetic system, but is too stable at low $k_y$ and nonlinear simulations using the MHD approximation result in very different transport states. It is demonstrated that the MHD approximation is challenged by the high $\beta^{\prime}$ values in STEP, and that the approximation improves considerably at lower $\beta^{\prime}$. Furthermore, it is shown that the sensitivity of STEP to $\delta \! B_{\parallel}$ fluctuations is primarily because the plasma sits close to marginality and it is shown that in slightly more strongly driven conditions the hKBM is unstable without $\delta \! B_{\parallel}.$ Crucially, it is demonstrated that the state of large transport typically predicted by local electromagnetic gyrokinetic simulations of STEP plasmas is not solely due to $\delta \! B_{\parallel}$ physics.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2023

Nonlinear microtearing modes in MAST and their stochastic layer formation

First nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of microtearing modes in the core of a MAST case are performed on two surfaces of the high-collisionality discharge used in Valovi\v{c} et al. Nucl. Fusion 51.7 (2011) to obtain the favorable energy confinement scaling with collisionality, $\tau_E\propto\,\nu_*^{-1}$. On the considered surfaces microtearing modes dominate linearly at binormal length scales of the order of the ion Larmor radius. While the effect of electron collision frequency is moderate in linear simulations, a strong dependence on this parameter is found in nonlinear simulations at $r/a=0.5$, where $r$ and $a$ are the surface and tokamak minor radius, respectively. The dynamics of magnetic islands generated by microtearing modes is analysed, showing that the radial extent of the stochastic region caused by islands overlapping plays an important role in determining the saturation level of the microtearing mode driven heat flux. Local nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations show that the microtearing mode driven heat flux, $Q_e^\mathrm{MTM}$, is largely dominated by magnetic flutter and depends strongly on the magnetic shear, $\hat{s}$. Comparing two surfaces, $r/a=0.5$ and $r/a=0.6$, reveals that $Q_e^\mathrm{MTM}$ is negligible at $r/a=0.5$ ($\hat{s}=0.34$), with the electron temperature gradient driven heat flux, $Q_e^\mathrm{ETG}$, comparable to the experimental electron heat flux, $Q_e^\mathrm{exp}$, while $Q_e^\mathrm{MTM}$ is significantly larger and comparable to $Q_e^\mathrm{ETG}$ and $Q_e^\mathrm{exp}$ at $r/a=0.6$ ($\hat{s}=1.1$). Microtearing modes cause more experimentally significant transport in higher $\hat{s}$ regions and may influence (together with electron temperature gradient modes) the observed scaling of energy confinement time with collisionality (Valovi\v{c} et al. Nucl. Fusion 51.7 (2011)).

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2020

Physics-informed Gaussian Process for Online Optimization of Particle Accelerators

High-dimensional optimization is a critical challenge for operating large-scale scientific facilities. We apply a physics-informed Gaussian process (GP) optimizer to tune a complex system by conducting efficient global search. Typical GP models learn from past observations to make predictions, but this reduces their applicability to new systems where archive data is not available. Instead, here we use a fast approximate model from physics simulations to design the GP model. The GP is then employed to make inferences from sequential online observations in order to optimize the system. Simulation and experimental studies were carried out to demonstrate the method for online control of a storage ring. We show that the physics-informed GP outperforms current routinely used online optimizers in terms of convergence speed, and robustness on this task. The ability to inform the machine-learning model with physics may have wide applications in science.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2019

Online tuning and light source control using a physics-informed Gaussian process Adi

Operating large-scale scientific facilities often requires fast tuning and robust control in a high dimensional space. In this paper we introduce a new physics-informed optimization algorithm based on Gaussian process regression. Our method takes advantage of the existing domain knowledge in the form of realizations of a physics model of the observed system. We have applied a physics-informed Gaussian Process method experimentally at the SPEAR3 storage ring to demonstrate online accelerator optimization. This method outperforms Gaussian Process trained on data as well as the standard approach routinely used for operation, in terms of convergence speed and optimal point. The proposed method could be applicable to automatic tuning and control of other complex systems, without a prerequisite for any observed data.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2016

Performance of two Askaryan Radio Array stations and first results in the search for ultra-high energy neutrinos

Ultra-high energy neutrinos are interesting messenger particles since, if detected, they can transmit exclusive information about ultra-high energy processes in the Universe. These particles, with energies above $10^{16}\mathrm{eV}$, interact very rarely. Therefore, detectors that instrument several gigatons of matter are needed to discover them. The ARA detector is currently being constructed at South Pole. It is designed to use the Askaryan effect, the emission of radio waves from neutrino-induced cascades in the South Pole ice, to detect neutrino interactions at very high energies. With antennas distributed among 37 widely-separated stations in the ice, such interactions can be observed in a volume of several hundred cubic kilometers. Currently 3 deep ARA stations are deployed in the ice of which two have been taking data since the beginning of the year 2013. In this publication, the ARA detector "as-built" and calibrations are described. Furthermore, the data reduction methods used to distinguish the rare radio signals from overwhelming backgrounds of thermal and anthropogenic origin are presented. Using data from only two stations over a short exposure time of 10 months, a neutrino flux limit of $3 \cdot 10^{-6} \mathrm{GeV} / (\mathrm{cm^2 \ s \ sr})$ is calculated for a particle energy of 10^{18}eV, which offers promise for the full ARA detector.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

The Electroweak Fit of the Standard Model after the Discovery of a New Boson at the LHC

In view of the discovery of a new boson by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations at the LHC, we present an update of the global Standard Model (SM) fit to electroweak precision data. Assuming the new particle to be the SM Higgs boson, all fundamental parameters of the SM are known allowing, for the first time, to overconstrain the SM at the electroweak scale and assert its validity. Including the effects of radiative corrections and the experimental and theoretical uncertainties, the global fit exhibits a p-value of 0.07. The mass measurements by ATLAS and CMS agree within 1.3sigma with the indirect determination M_H=(94 +25 -22) GeV. Within the SM the W boson mass and the effective weak mixing angle can be accurately predicted to be M_W=(80.359 +- 0.011) GeV and sin^2(theta_eff^ell)=(0.23150 +- 0.00010) from the global fit. These results are compatible with, and exceed in precision, the direct measurements. For the indirect determination of the top quark mass we find m_t=(175.8 +2.7 -2.4) GeV, in agreement with the kinematic and cross-section based measurements.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Updated Status of the Global Electroweak Fit and Constraints on New Physics

We present an update of the Standard Model fit to electroweak precision data. We include newest experimental results on the top quark mass, the W mass and width, and the Higgs boson mass bounds from LEP, Tevatron and the LHC. We also include a new determination of the electromagnetic coupling strength at the Z pole. We find for the Higgs boson mass (91 +30 -23) GeV and (120 +12 -5) GeV when not including and including the direct Higgs searches, respectively. From the latter fit we indirectly determine the W mass to be (80.360 +0.014 -0.013) GeV. We exploit the data to determine experimental constraints on the oblique vacuum polarisation parameters, and confront these with predictions from the Standard Model (SM) and selected SM extensions. By fitting the oblique parameters to the electroweak data we derive allowed regions in the BSM parameter spaces. We revisit and consistently update these constraints for a fourth fourth fermion generation, two Higgs doublet, inert Higgs and littlest Higgs models, models with large, universal or warped extra dimensions and technicolour. In most of the models studied a heavy Higgs boson can be made compatible with the electroweak precision data.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Design and Initial Performance of the Askaryan Radio Array Prototype EeV Neutrino Detector at the South Pole

We report on studies of the viability and sensitivity of the Askaryan Radio Array (ARA), a new initiative to develop a Teraton-scale ultra-high energy neutrino detector in deep, radio-transparent ice near Amundsen-Scott station at the South Pole. An initial prototype ARA detector system was installed in January 2011, and has been operating continuously since then. We report on studies of the background radio noise levels, the radio clarity of the ice, and the estimated sensitivity of the planned ARA array given these results, based on the first five months of operation. Anthropogenic radio interference in the vicinity of the South Pole currently leads to a few-percent loss of data, but no overall effect on the background noise levels, which are dominated by the thermal noise floor of the cold polar ice, and galactic noise at lower frequencies. We have also successfully detected signals originating from a 2.5 km deep impulse generator at a distance of over 3 km from our prototype detector, confirming prior estimates of kilometer-scale attenuation lengths for cold polar ice. These are also the first such measurements for propagation over such large slant distances in ice. Based on these data, ARA-37, the 200 km^2 array now under construction, will achieve the highest sensitivity of any planned or existing neutrino detector in the 10^{16}-10^{19} eV energy range.

astro-ph.IM↗