Recent Publications

Jul 31

Evaluation of spatiotemporal tungsten density profiles using Unresolved Transition Arrays in the Large Helical Device

Jul 31, 2026

R. Nishimura, T. Oishi, I. Murakami, D. Kato, H. A. Sakaue, S. Gupta, H. Ohashi, C. Suzuki, M. Goto, Y. Kawamoto, et al.

National Institutes of Natural Sciences, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Sokendai, Tohoku University, Kyushu University, National Cheng Kung University

Tungsten spectroscopic studies have been conducted in the Large Helical Device with a pellet injection technique. Spatiotemporal profiles of tungsten density were evaluated using a space-resolved spectrometer, for plasmas with an electron temperature of below 1 keV and electron density of $10^{19}-10^{20}$ $m^{-3}$. Slice & Stack, a method for reconstructing emissivity, was applied to a line at 191.7 Å , which is a part of the Unresolved Transition Array (UTA) spectrum at 90-250 Å. Tungsten density was obtained using photon emission coefficients of $\mathrm{W}^{17+} - \mathrm{W}^{27+}$, evaluated from collisional-radiative model. The tungsten pellet injected from outside the plasma was first ablated in the edge plasma and subsequently diffused throughout the plasma. This behavior is typical of pellet injection experiments. Furthermore, after an event triggered by NBI breakdown, tungsten accumulated in the core plasma. The radiation power was estimated from the evaluated tungsten density profile and cooling factor dataset, and compared with bolometer measurement. This sequence of processes would be useful for validating atomic data of tungsten ions in low-to-intermediate charge states.

Jul 28

Development of Charge Exchange Spectroscopy in LHD

Jul 28, 2026

Mikirou Yoshinuma, Katsumi Ida, Tatsuya Kobayashi

National Institute for Fusion Science, Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI

Charge exchange spectroscopy is widely used in fusion plasma research as a method for measuring ion temperature distribution and plasma flow velocity. In the LHD, charge exchange spectroscopy has been applied to observe impurity density distribution, hydrogen/deuterium isotope ratio distribution, and distortion of the ion velocity distribution function using multiple systems that employ high-throughput spectrometers, multi-channel optical fibers, and high-speed image detectors. In the measurement of the hydrogen/deuterium ratio, we succeeded in the analysis by combining it with velocity distribution measurement using a conventional system. In the measurement of the ion velocity distribution function, we were able to grasp the overall situation by combining one with high spatial resolution and a system with high temporal resolution.

Jul 22

Analysis of the bursting activity in Large Helical Device plasma with multiple EP populations

Jul 22, 2026

Jacobo Varela Rodríguez, Kenichi Nagaoka, Masato Matsuoka, Hideo Nuga, Ryosuke Seki, Kunihiro Ogawa, Kenji Tanaka, Y Todo, Hao Wang, Jialei Wang, et al.

National Institutes of Natural Science, University of Texas at Austin, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Nagoya University, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Burst events can severely deteriorate the performance of a future stellarator fusion reactor by reducing the plasma heating efficiency and confinement. Bursting activity is observed in the Large Helical Device (LHD) operation scenarios strongly heated by neutral beam injectors (NBI). This study analyzes the performance degradation in the LHD discharge $189008$ linked to the destabilization of burst events. On that aim, the stability of Alfv'en Eigenmodes (AE) and energetic-ion-driven resistive interchange modes (EIC) is analyzed. Linear and nonlinear simulations using the gyro-fluid code FAR3d reproduce the multiple Toroidal AEs (TAEs) measured in the frequency range of $40-80$ kHz leading to the destabilization of an MHD burst (induced by passing energetic particles injected by the tangential NBI), as well as the EIC destabilized around $12$ kHz that causes the EIC burst (caused by helically trapped energetic particles injected by the perpendicular NBI). This study suggests burst events can be induced by the nonlinear interaction between passing (tangential NBI) and helically trapped (perpendicular NBI) energetic particles (EP) populations, creating a feedback effect that enhances the EP drive. The MHD burst causes $30\%$ of passing EP losses and the EIC burst up to $90\%$ of trapped EP losses, EP confinement degradation that may partially explain the decrease of the device performance. The analysis also indicates the EP transport induced during the burst events is ballistic linked to avalanche-like processes, leading to the intense EP fluxes. In addition, the bursting activity affects the thermal plasma confinement observed as a decrease of the thermal electron density, reproduced in the simulations as a decay of the thermal plasma pressure. The simulations output shows a reasonable agreement with different diagnostic measurements, including the enhanced magnetic perturbations detected by the Mirnov coils once the perpendicular NBI operation and bursting activity begin, the intensity and radial location of the radial electric field and shear flows from charge exchange spectroscopy diagnostic (CXS) data as well as the instabilities frequency range and dominant modes numbers calculated from magnetics data. The main conclusion of the analysis is that, the nonlinear feedback between different EP populations can enhance the EP drive leading to the onset of bursting events and the degradation of burning plasmas performance, particularly in scenarios with a large amount of EPs generated by different heating mechanisms that may destabilize the alpha particle population.

Jul 20

Spectroscopy Using a Schwob-Fraenkel Grazing Incidence Spectrometer

Jul 20, 2026

Chihiro Suzuki, Hisamichi Funaba, Naoki Tamura

National Institute for Fusion Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik

This article reviews the technological details of a 2-m Schwob-Fraenkel soft X-ray multichannel spectrometer (SOXMOS) which has been installed in the Large Helical Device (LHD) to study impurity behaviors. Experimental setup of the SOXMOS operated in the duo-multichannel detector mode is described together with the peripheral equipment and remote control systems customized for the LHD. The absolute wavelength is carefully calibrated using the positions of reference lines based on the two different fitting methods. The data acquisition and registration are completely automated, and the secondary physical data resulting from the wavelength calibration and the peak detection are also made available for all the LHD users. The SOXMOS data have been widely used for various research topics relevant to impurity transport as well as atomic physics.

Jul 13

Development of time-evolving NBCD simulation in the LHD, consistent with neutron and impurity measurements

Jul 13, 2026

H. Nuga, R. Seki, K. Ogawa, Y. Takemura, S. Satake, H. Yamaguchi, S. Kamio, Y. Fujiwara, Y. Kawamoto, M. Yoshinuma, et al.

National Institutes of Natural Sciences, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, University of California Irvine, TAE Technologies, Mahasarakham University

We have developed a simulation code for the plasma current driven by the neutral beam in the large helical device (LHD). To compare the results between the experiment and the simulation, not only the beam-driven current, but also the other components, must be estimated. In this paper, we have integrated the codes that solve electromagnetic induction, neoclassical transport (DKES/PENTA), and the fast-ion distribution function (TASK3D-a and TASK/FP) to achieve Neutral beam current drive simulation. The code has been benchmarked against the analytical solution for the evolution of the plasma current. Then the code has been applied to actual LHD discharges. Although the trend and the absolute value of the simulated plasma current became similar to the measured one, the time constant of the current evolution disagreed. By considering the mutual induction between the plasma and the external coils, the simulated time constant of the plasma current evolution became closer to the experimental one.

Jul 6

Review of High-Power Microwave Transmission System for ECH in LHD

Jul 6, 2026

Ryoma Yanai, Shin Kubo, Takashi Shimozuma, Yasuo Yoshimura, Masaki Nishiura, Hiroe Igami, Hiromi Takahashi, Toru Ii Tsujimura, Naoki Kenmochi, Sakuji Kobayashi, et al.

National Institute for Fusion Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Kyoto Fusioneering Ltd, Chubu University, National Institute for Quantum Science and Technology

Electron cyclotron heating (ECH) is one of the auxiliary heating methods employed in many magnetically confined fusion devices. In the Large Helical Device (LHD), the ECH system - including high-power gyrotrons, transmission lines, and mirror antennas – has played an important role in improving plasma parameters and realizing a variety of plasma experiments. Highly efficient transmission lines capable of withstanding high-power microwaves are essential to deliver high-power microwaves emitted from gyrotrons. In addition, mirror antennas are important for ensuring that the ECH power is absorbed at the intended location. In this paper, the ECH transmission system, focusing on the associated components used in high-power microwave transmission lines and various mirror antennas prepared for the LHD experiment, is reviewed.

Real-Time Control System for Electron Cyclotron Heating Injection on LHD

Jul 6, 2026

Naoki Kenmochi, Tohru Ii Tsujimura, Yoshinori Mizuno, Masaki Nishiura, Kota Okada, Yasuo Yoshimura, Hiroe Igami, Hiromi Takahashi, Ryoma Yanai, Toshiki Takeuchi, et al.

National Institute for Fusion Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Kyoto Fusioneering Ltd., The University of Tokyo, Nagoya University

Real-time control of electron cyclotron heating (ECH) is critical for optimizing plasma performance and preventing instabilities in advanced fusion devices. We present a comprehensive real-time ECH control system developed on the Large Helical Device (LHD) that enables real-time adjustment of microwave heating in response to evolving plasma conditions. A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) controller actuates the ECH launchers, enabling millisecond-level adjustments of both injection angle and polarization to maximize absorption as plasma density and temperature profiles change. To compute suitable settings rapidly, a generative adversarial network (GAN) model was trained on thousands of past LHD discharges and ray-tracing simulations of ECH to generate control parameters for the deposition position and polarization. In high-density LHD experiments, another machine-learning-based prediction framework enabled the first active avoidance of radiative collapse. The predictor identified an impending collapse about 65 milliseconds in advance, triggering automated ECH power re-targeting and a cutoff of fueling that stabilized the plasma beyond the conventional density limit. These developments demonstrate how real-time ECH control, together with machine-learning-assisted prediction and inference, can sustain stable, high-performance plasmas, highlighting a pathway toward long-duration, steady-state fusion operations.

Jul 3

Experimental Data Management System for Long-Term Fusion Experiments

Jul 3, 2026

Masahiko Emoto, Hideya Nakanishi, Masanobu Yoshida, Ryuichi Sakamoto

National Institute for Fusion Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies

The LHD experiment started in 1998 at the National Institute for Fusion Science and has continued for nearly 30 years. The experimental data obtained in these experiments are stored as physical data in the Kaiseki Data Server and made available to the public using an open data server. Through the experience of developing and operating this server, this paper discusses the problems that can occur in data management systems in long-term projects such as the LHD experiment and how they can be improved.

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