Generation of suprathermal electrons during magnetic reconnection at the sawtooth crash and disruption instability in the T-10 tokamak

Evidence for excitation of suprathermal electrons ( E(gamma) approximately 20-100 keV) during magnetic reconnection in the T-10 tokamak is presented through analysis of the x-ray measurements with enhanced spatial and time resolution. A toroidally viewing x-ray imaging system and a fast hard x-ray detector placed inside the tokamak vessel allow identification of bursts of the nonthermal x-ray radiation around X points of the m = 1 and m = 2 magnetic islands during the sawtooth crash and prior to the energy quench at the density limit disruption.