Speaker
Description
The nuclear fusion reaction between deuterium and tritium, will be the main source of energy in future thermonuclear reactors. Charged fusion products of this reaction, α-particles, are born with an average energy of 3.5 MeV. They transfer energy to the thermal plasma during their slowing down, providing the self-sustained deuterium-tritium plasma burn. Adequate confinement of α-particles is essential to provide efficient heating of the bulk plasma and steady burning of a reactor plasma. Investigation of fusion-born α-particles behaviour will be a priority task for the planned DT experiments on Joint European Tokamak (JET), International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and for the future DEMO fusion power plant in order to understand the main mechanisms of their slowing down, redistribution and losses and to develop optimal plasma scenarios.