This award will provide supplementary support to enable Dr. Maurice LeBrun of the University of Texas to conduct collaborative research for six months with Dr. Tatsuoki Takeda of the Naka Fusion Research Establishment, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, in Naka-machi, Ibaraki-ken, Japan. They will apply large scale numerical simulation methods to the study of plasma transport processes in toroidal magnetic confinement devices, with a goal of increased understanding and predictive capability. Dr. LeBrun has been involved in the development of a particle simulation model and code for studying confined plasmas in realistic geometries. The Naka Fusion Research Establishment has a strong theoretical and experimental program centered around the JT-60 tokamak, one of the three largest plasma fusion experiments in the world. This collaboration will enable the P.I. to interface with scientists studying the physics of large plasma confinement devices, and thus apply model to physically relevant studies.
