arXiv subjects

Xavier Bonnin

Publications and source records attributed to Xavier Bonnin.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

RF-Specific Tungsten Erosion and Global Transport in ITER under Neon Seeding

Ion cyclotron radio-frequency heating (ICRH) is a key auxiliary heating system in ITER, but high-power RF operation can enhance plasma-material interactions through rectified RF sheath potentials on antenna structures and nearby plasma-facing components. We present the first predictive application of the STRIPE (Simulated Transport of RF Impurity Production and Emission) framework to assess RF sheath-driven tungsten (W) erosion and global impurity transport from the ITER ICRH antenna under ITER-relevant neon-seeded conditions. STRIPE couples SOLPS-ITER plasma backgrounds, full-wave RF sheath calculations, geometry-specific ion energy-angle distributions, sputtering physics, and three-dimensional impurity transport. Simulations predict RF sheath potentials of 1 to 3 kV on antenna limiter sidewalls, increasing gross W erosion by about a factor of 64 relative to thermal sheath conditions and producing a gross source of 3.34e18 W atoms per second. Erosion is governed by RF-modified ion energy-angle distributions together with local plasma flux rather than sheath voltage alone. About 10 percent of sputtered W is locally redeposited, giving a net source of 3.01e18 W atoms per second. The RF-induced antenna source remains about three orders of magnitude smaller than the thermal divertor source and more than two orders of magnitude smaller than the integrated thermal main-chamber source. After 100 ms, about 22 percent of the mobile W inventory resides within the SOLPS-covered confined-plasma region, corresponding to an annular W concentration of 1.70e-6. These results indicate that the ITER ICRH antenna is unlikely to dominate the total W source budget under the conditions considered and demonstrate the need for coupled modeling of RF waves, sheaths, sputtering, redeposition, and global impurity transport.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2021

Spectral Analysis of Solar Radio Type III Bursts from 20 kHz to 410 MHz

We present the statistical analysis of the spectral response of solar radio type III bursts over the wide frequency range between 20 kHz and 410 MHz. For this purpose, we have used observations that were carried out using both spaced-based (Wind/Waves) and ground-based (Nan\c{c}ay Decameter Array and Nan\c{c}ay Radioheliograph) facilities. In order to compare the flux densities observed by the different instruments, we have carefully calibrated the data and displayed them in Solar Flux Units. The main result of our study is that type III bursts, in the metric to hectometric wavelength range, statistically exhibit a clear maximum of their median radio flux density around 2 MHz. Although this result was already reported by inspecting the spectral profiles of type III bursts in the frequency range 20 kHz - 20 MHz, our study extends such analysis for the first time to metric radio frequencies (i.e., from 20 kHz to 410 MHz) and confirms the maximum spectral response around 2 MHz. In addition, using a simple empirical model we show that the median radio flux $S$ of the studied dataset obeys the polynomial form $Y = 0.04 X^3 - 1.63 X^2 + 16.30 X -41.24$, with $X=\ln{(F_\text{MHz})}$ and with $Y=\ln{(S_\text{SFU})}$. Using the Sittler and Guhathakurtha model for coronal streamers \citep{Sit1999}, we have found that maximum of radio power falls therefore in the range 4 to 10 $R_{\odot}$, depending on whether the type III emissions are assumed to be at the fundamental or the harmonic.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2020

Density Fluctuations in the Solar Wind Based on Type III Radio Bursts Observed by Parker Solar Probe

Radio waves are strongly scattered in the solar wind, so that their apparent sources seem to be considerably larger and shifted than the actual ones. Since the scattering depends on the spectrum of density turbulence, better understanding of the radio wave propagation provides indirect information on the relative density fluctuations $\epsilon=\langle\delta n\rangle/\langle n\rangle$ at the effective turbulence scale length. Here, we have analyzed 30 type III bursts detected by Parker Solar Probe (PSP). For the first time, we have retrieved type III burst decay times $\tau_{\rm{d}}$ between 1 MHz and 10 MHz thanks to an unparalleled temporal resolution of PSP. We observed a significant deviation in a power-law slope for frequencies above 1 MHz when compared to previous measurements below 1 MHz by the twin-spacecraft Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) mission. We note that altitudes of radio bursts generated at 1 MHz roughly coincide with an expected location of the Alfv\'{e}n point, where the solar wind becomes super-Alfv\'{e}nic. By comparing PSP observations and Monte Carlo simulations, we predict relative density fluctuations $\epsilon$ at the effective turbulence scale length at radial distances between 2.5$R_\odot$ and 14$R_\odot$ to range from $0.22$ and $0.09$. Finally, we calculated relative density fluctuations $\epsilon$ measured in situ by PSP at a radial distance from the Sun of $35.7$~$R_\odot$ during the perihelion \#1, and the perihelion \#2 to be $0.07$ and $0.06$, respectively. It is in a very good agreement with previous STEREO predictions ($\epsilon=0.06-0.07$) obtained by remote measurements of radio sources generated at this radial distance.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2019

MASER: A Science Ready Toolbox for Low Frequency Radio Astronomy

MASER (Measurements, Analysis, and Simulation of Emission in the Radio range) is a comprehensive infrastructure dedicated to time-dependent low frequency radio astronomy (up to about 50 MHz). The main radio sources observed in this spectral range are the Sun, the magnetized planets (Earth, Jupiter, Saturn), and our Galaxy, which are observed either from ground or space. Ground observatories can capture high resolution data streams with a high sensitivity. Conversely, space-borne instruments can observe below the ionospheric cut-off (at about 10 MHz) and can be placed closer to the studied object. Several tools have been developed in the last decade for sharing space physics data. Data visualization tools developed by various institutes are available to share, display and analyse space physics time series and spectrograms. The MASER team has selected a sub-set of those tools and applied them to low frequency radio astronomy. MASER also includes a Python software library for reading raw data from agency archives.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2012

Automation of the filament tracking in the framework of the HELIO project

We present a new method to automatically track filaments over the solar disk. The filaments are first detected on Meudon Spectroheliograph Hα images of the Sun, applying the technique developed by Fuller, Aboudarham, and Bentley (Solar phys. 227, 61, 2005). This technique combines cleaning processes, image segmentation based on region growing, and morphological parameter ex- traction, including the determination of filament skeletons. The coordinates of the skeleton pixels, given in a heliocentric system, are then converted to a more appropriate reference frame that follows the rotation of the Sun surface. In such a frame, a co-rotating filament is always located around the same position, and its skeletons (extracted from each image) are thus spatially close, forming a group of adjacent features. In a third step, the shape of each skeleton is compared with its neighbours using a curve-matching algorithm. This step will permit us to define the probability [P ] that two close filaments in the co-rotating frame are actually the same one observed on two different images. At the end, the pairs of features, for which the corresponding probability is greater than a threshold value, are associated using tracking identification indexes.On a representative sample of filaments, the good agreement between automated and manual tracking confirms the reliability of the technique to be applied on large data sets. Especially, this code is already used in the framework of the Heliophysics Integrated Observatory (HELIO) to populate a catalogue dedicated to solar and heliospheric features (HFC). An extension of this method to others filament observations, and possibly the sunspots, faculae, and coronal holes tracking can be also envisaged.

astro-ph.SR↗