On the relation between plasma and neutral gas profiles in a cold gas-blanket system

A solution for the neutral density profile using the measured plasma density and temperature gradients is presented. The fluid model is used. It is found that the penetration length for neutrals is underestimated in the situation where the integrated profiles are used. The ionization rate need not be inferred in the present calculation, because the ionization of neutrals diffusing into the plasma is implicitly included in measured profiles. This calculation is advantageous in the low temperature range where the ionization rate is a strongly varying function of temperature. Finally the presented solution indicates that the temperature gradient plays the essential role in the determination of the neutral density profile. (Auth.)