Fusion plasma losses due to the charge exchange of injected neutrals

The interaction of a neutral beam, consisting of full, half, and third energy components, with a mirror plasma is analyzed. The beam-plasma interaction is assumed to occur via ionization and charge exchange collisions. The plasma was approximated as being spherical in shape, having a uniform density, isotropic velocity distribution, and a mirror plasma energy distribution. It was found that to a first approximation, for plasma energies less than 100 keV, the charge exchange power loss (per injected atom) of the half energy component is at least twice that of the full energy component. For the third energy component, the loss is at least three times that of the full energy component. For some plasma conditions, the neutral beam can act as an energy sink for the plasma due to these charge exchange losses.