Continuous improvement of H-mode discharge performance with progressively increasing lithium coatings in the National Spherical Torus Experiment

Lithium wall coatings have been shown to reduce recycling, improve energy confinement, and suppress edge localized modes in the National Spherical Torus Experiment. Here, we show that these effects depend continuously on the amount of predischarge lithium evaporation. We observed a nearly monotonic reduction in recycling, decrease in electron transport, and modification of the edge profiles and stability with increasing lithium. These correlations challenge basic expectations, given that even the smallest coatings exceeded that needed for a nominal thickness of the order of the implantation range.     

Suppression of electron temperature gradient turbulence via negative magnetic shear in NSTX

Negative magnetic shear is found to suppress electron turbulence and improve electron thermal transport for plasmas in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). Sufficiently negative magnetic shear results in a transition out of a stiff profile regime. Density fluctuation measurements from high-k microwave scattering are verified to be the electron temperature gradient (ETG) mode by matching measured rest frequency and linear growth rate to gyrokinetic calculations. Fluctuation suppression under negligible E×B shear conditions confirm that negative magnetic shear alone is sufficient for ETG suppression. Measured electron temperature gradients can significantly exceed ETG critical gradients with ETG mode activity reduced to intermittent bursts, while electron thermal diffusivity improves to below 0.1?electron gyro-Bohms.     

Electromagnetic transport from microtearing mode turbulence

This Letter presents nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of microtearing mode turbulence. The simulations include collisional and electromagnetic effects and use experimental parameters from a high-β discharge in the National Spherical Torus Experiment. The predicted electron thermal transport is comparable to that given by experimental analysis, and it is dominated by the electromagnetic contribution of electrons free-streaming along the resulting stochastic magnetic field line trajectories. Experimental values of flow shear can significantly reduce the predicted transport.     

The arithmetic of cuts in models of arithmetic

We present a number of results on the structure of initial segments of models of Peano arithmetic with the arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation and logarithm. Each of the binary operations introduced is defined in two dual ways, often with quite different results, and we attempt to systematise the issues and show how various calculations may be carried out. To understand the behaviour of addition and subtraction we introduce a notion of derivative on cuts, analogous to differentiation in the calculus. Multiplication, division and other operations are described by higher order versions of derivative. The work here is presented as important preliminary work related to a nonstandard measure theory of non‐definable bounded subsets of a model of Peano arithmetic.     

Observation of compressional Alfvén modes during neutral-beam heating on the national spherical torus experiment

Neutral-beam-driven compressional Alfvén eigenmodes at frequencies below the ion cyclotron frequency have been observed and identified for the first time in the National Spherical Torus Experiment. The modes are observed as a broad spectrum of nearly equally spaced peaks in the frequency range from approximately 0.2omega(ci) to approximately 1.2omega(ci). The frequency has a scaling with toroidal field and plasma density consistent with Alfvén waves. The modes have been observed with high bandwidth magnetic pickup coils and with a reflectometer.     

Palatini-type variational principle for the SL(2, C) gauge theory of gravitation

An explicitly SL(2, C) gauge-invariant Lagrangian density, equivalent to Hilbert's Lagrangian density, is written, and a Palatini-type variational principle is applied to it. The resulting field equations are Einstein's equations written in dyad notation and a set of equations defining the spin coefficients in terms of the components of the null tetrad vectors and their directional derivatives. The techniques employed throughout this article are those which were developed in the SL(2, C) gauge theory of gravitation.     

Confederated Miniature Sieves as an Alternative to Nest Sieving

Miniaturized sieves (1/2 inch diameter) can be mounted in a spinning riffler system to obtain small representative powder samples which eventually can be sieved in situ without removing the miniature sieves from the riffler system. By mounting several different aperture sieves around the riffler a confederation of miniature sieves could replace nest sieving. The sieving surface for these new sieves is so small compared to that of the traditional eight inch sieve that one could consider using the more expensive electroformed sieving surfaces for all test sieves in the quality control laboratory.