Analysis of measurement errors for Thomson diagnostics of non-Maxwellian plasmas in tokamak reactors

The study is stimulated by the expected noticeable deviation of the electron velocity distribution function (eVDF) from a Maxwellian under condition of a strong auxiliary heating of electron plasmas in tokamak-reactors. The key principles of accuracy estimation of the Thomson scattering diagnostic of non-Maxwellian plasmas in tokamak-reactors are presented. The algorithm extends the conventional approach to the assessment of non-Maxwellian plasmas measurements errors for a broad class of deviations of the eVDF from a Maxwellian. The algorithm is based on solving the inverse problem many times to determine main parameters of the eVDF with allowance for all possible sources of error and statistical variation of the input parameters of the problem. The method is applied to a preliminary analysis of the advantages of the formerly suggested use of various wavelengths of probing laser radiation in the Thomson diagnostics of non-Maxwellian plasma on the example of the core plasma Thomson scattering diagnostic system which is under design for ITER tokamak. The results obtained confirm the relevance of the diversification of the probing laser radiation wavelength. (paper)