Atomic And Molecular Processes In Edge Plasmas Including Hydrocarbon Molecules

This well-illustrated resource provides vital cross-section information for the atomic and molecular collision processes taking place in the boundary region of magnetically confined fusion plasmas and in other laboratory and astrophysical low-temperature plasmas. The expertly assessed information in this noteworthy volume includes the most recent experimental and theoretical results presented in a convenient format. Coverage includes the processes of electron-impact excitation and ionization of plasma edge atoms, electron-ion recombination, dissociative collision processes involving electrons and much more.

A variety of plasmas include molecules rather than only ions or atoms. Examples are ionospheres of the Earth and other planets, stellar atmospheres, gaseous discharges for use in various devices and processes, and fusion plasmas in the edge region. This book describes the role of molecules in those plasmas by showing elementary collision processes involving those molecules.

It became clear in the early days of fusion research that the effects of the containment vessel (erosion of "impurities") degrade the overall fusion plasma performance. Progress in controlled nuclear fusion research over the last decade has led to magnetically confined plasmas that, in turn, are sufficiently powerful to damage the vessel structures over its lifetime. This book reviews current understanding and concepts to deal with this remaining critical design issue for fusion reactors. It reviews both progress and open questions, largely in terms of available and sought-after plasma-surface interaction data and atomic/molecular data related to these "plasma edge" issues.

A review of the most important reactions of atomic and molecular hydrogen with the fusion edge plasma electrons and ions is presented. An appropriate characterization of the considered collision processes, useful in plasma edge studies (evaluated cross sections, reaction rates, energy gain/loss per collision, etc.) has been performed. While a complete survey of atomic physics of fusion edge plasmas will be given elsewhere shortly, we demonstrate here the relevance of the atomic collision processes for describing the physical state of edge plasmas and understanding the energy balance in cool divertor plasmas. It is found that the excited neutral species play an important role in the low-temperature, high-density plasmas.

Atomic processes in plasmas and gases encompass broad areas in theoretical, experimental, atomic and molecular physics. One example is atomic processes that are involved in the study of various plasmas over a wide range of electron densities and temperatures. The topics in this area covered in the present book include magnetic fusion plasmas, laser-produced plasmas, as well as plasma spectroscopy for all of the above applications. Another example is atomic and molecular processes in neutral gases. Rydberg polar molecules in particular are covered in this book.

This book reviews the major progress made in the fields of atomic, molecular and optical physics in the last decade. It contains eleven chapters in which contributors have highlighted the major accomplishments made in a given subfield. Each chapter is not a comprehensive review, but rather a succinct survey of the most interesting developments achieved in recent years. This book contains information on many AMO subfields and can be used as a textbook for graduate students interested in entering AMO physics. It may also serve researchers who wish to familiarize themselves with other AMO subfields.

These publications, arising from a Coordinated Research Project on Atomic and Molecular Data for Plasma Modelling, provide information on new data relevant to the edge region of plasmas in nuclear fusion energy devices. In this region, molecules and molecular ions are formed and react with electrons and with each other and fusion plasma modelling requires cross-sections and rate coefficients for such processes. This volume describes new data and data compilations for atomic and molecular processes that occur in edge plasma and provides data in forms that can be used in plasma modelling codes.