Transient Enhancement ('Spike-on-Tail') Observed on Neutral-Beam-Injected Energetic Ion Spectra Using the E||B Neutral Particle Analyzer in the National Spherical Torus Experiment

An increase of up to four-fold in the E||B Neutral Particle Analyzer (NPA) charge exchange neutral flux localized at the Neutral Beam (NB) injection full energy is observed in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). Termed the High-Energy Feature (HEF), it appears on the NB-injected energetic ion spectrum only in discharges where tearing or kink-type modes (f < 10 kHz) are absent, TAE activity (f ~ 10-150 kHz) is weak (δBrms < 75 mGauss) and CAE/GAE activity (f ~ 400 – 1200 kHz) is robust. The feature exhibits a growth time of ~ 20 - 80 ms and occasionally develops a slowing down distribution that continues to evolve over periods of 100's of milliseconds, a time scale long compared with the typical ~ 10's ms equilibration time of the NB injected particles. The HEF is observed only in H-mode (not L-mode) discharges with injected NB power of 4 MW or greater and in the field pitch range v||/v ~ 0.7 – 0.9; i.e. only for passing (never trapped) energetic ions. The HEF is suppressed by vessel conditioning using lithium deposition at rates ~ 100 mg/shot, a level sufficient to suppress ELM activity. Increases of ~ 10 - 30 % inmore » the measured neutron yield and total stored energy are observed to coincide with the feature along with broadening of measured Te(r), Ti(r) and ne(r) profiles. However, TRANSP analysis shows that such increases are driven by plasma profile changes and not the HEF phenomenon itself. Though a definitive mechanism has yet to be developed, the HEF appears to be caused by a form of TAE/CAE wave-particle interaction that distorts of the NB fast ion distribution in phase space.« less