Spatially-Resolved Electron Density Measurement in Hydrogen Pellet Ablation Cloud

A spectroscopic method for spatial resolution measurement in fuel pellet ablation clouds is being developed in the Large Helical Device (LHD). Spatial resolution is obtained thanks to optics that have a narrow, band-shaped field-of-view. The Stark-broadened Hβ emission line of a deuterium pellet ablation cloud is isolated and analyzed with a spectral lineshape code. The electron density profile of the ablation cloud along its direction of elongation is derived through least squares fitting. The obtained profile is peaked and has a dip at its center which confirms what can be found in simulations. Moreover, the order of magnitudes for the derived electron densities are in agreement with what has already been found in the LHD.