Atomic and plasma-material interaction data for fusion. V. 14

Plasmas in fusion energy devices consist of hot core plasmas with cooler regions near the edge. The temperatures are much lower in the edge region than in the core and there is a relatively high population of neutral species. Neutral and charged molecular species may form in this region and influence the plasma diagnostics. A variety of molecules, including species of hydrocarbons, form in the edge region, and hydrocarbon species up to C3H8 may be produced. As the plasma interacts with the surface of the containment vessel, erosion from the surface will take place. There is then the potential for a number of chemical reactions to occur near the surface. A wide variety of interaction processes will take place involving these molecules in the edge region. It is not well known to what extent these processes affect the efficiency of the divertor itself. Thus there is a need to gather spectroscopic and collisional data to better understand the extent to which these processes are important in the edge regions, including data derived from infrared spectroscopy. The importance of these molecular processes to fusion research led to a strong recommendation from the A+M Subcommittee of the International Fusion Research Council at its twelfth meeting in May 2000 to initiate a coordinated research project (CRP) to address data needs in this area. The IAEA initiated the CRP on Data for Molecular Processes in Edge Plasmas in 2001. The purpose of the CRP was to identify the specific molecular processes that are important to the plasma physics in the edge region and to provide data for some of these processes. During the course of the CRP that concluded in 2005, new data have been generated for a variety of processes impacting a number of issues in the edge region of fusion plasmas. Essentially all the goals of the original work plan were fulfilled during the course of the CRP, with the generation of new theoretical and measured cross-sections for a variety of processes in molecules relevant to fusion plasmas. A great deal of the data have now been made available in electronic form for several modelling codes, and have already had a positive impact in a number of fusion applications. Data have also been added to the database, maintained by the IAEA, for direct and cost-free use by all fusion researchers. The present volume of Atomic and Plasma-Material Interaction Data for Fusion represents the results of the coordinated effort of leading experimental and theoretical groups within the CRP. The contributions of the participants of this CRP, contained in the present volume, significantly enlarge the available databases for processes involving molecules found in fusion plasma edge regions. This information is an important ingredient in many modelling and diagnostic studies of fusion plasmas.