Hydrogen atoms penetrating deep inside high-temperature magnetically confined plasmas by repetitive charge-exchange collisions result in a particle source of the plasma, which affects the plasma transport significantly. In this paper, we present an approximate solution of the fluid equations for neutral transport and an analytical representation of the neutral penetration length, in a simplified plasma geometry. This analysis predicts a power-law decay in the Balmer-α line wings which reflects the velocity distribution of the neutral atoms, with the power-law exponent analytically represented as well. These scaling laws are compared with a simple Monte–Carlo simulation and spectroscopic observations of Large Helical Device plasmas. Since the Balmer-α line wings are experimentally accessible, our formulation opens the possibility to quickly estimate the neutral penetration length from spectroscopic observations.
This paper presents a solution for neutral transport in high-temperature plasmas, which affects plasma properties. It derives an analytical formula for the neutral penetration length and the shape of the Balmer-α line wings, which can be used to estimate the neutral penetration from spectroscopic observations.