Use of the nuclear reaction for diagnostics of energetic particles in burning plasmas

Application of reaction-produced γ-rays to diagnostics of energetic particles in burning plasmas is analyzed. Particularly, we focus on 0.981 MeV γ-rays emitted in the nuclear reaction solely governed in the plasmas by energetic tritons. It is shown that these γ quanta can serve as a promising tool to diagnose α knock-on tritons and α-particles confined in burning DT plasmas. Key parameters of the α knock-on triton population and the α-particle confinement property can be obtained by comparing the experimental γ-ray yield and spectrum with theoretical slowing-down calculations. Even if the γ-ray spectral shape cannot be acquired, one can monitor densities of these tritons and α-particles at energies of 0.6–1.8 MeV and 2.0–3.5 MeV, respectively, in a nearly steady-state plasma. The 0.981-MeV photons also would help to display time evolution of the α-particle population in experiments of deuterium plasmas with pulsed tritium beam shots.