On the physics of runaway particles in JET and MAST

This paper explores the physics of runaway particles observed in MAST and JET. During internal reconnection events in MAST, it is observed that the ion distribution function, as measured by a neutral-particle analyser, develops a high-energy tail, which subsequently decays on the time scale of collisional slowing down. These observations are explained in terms of runaway ion acceleration in the electric field induced by the reconnection - a phenomenon predicted theoretically by Furth and Rutherford in 1972 but not commonly noted in tokamaks. In JET, long-lived post-disruption currents carried by runaway electrons have been observed to decay on a time scale of 1-2 s. A relativistic kinetic theory is developed to explain this decay as a consequence of the combined action of Coulomb collisions and synchrotron radiation emission. It is also pointed out that substantial electron-positron pair production should occur in such discharges, which have also been made more recently on JT-60U. In fact, tokamaks may be the largest positron repositories made by man. (author)