In a significant stride towards advancing fusion energy, researchers have successfully measured the gamma-ray emission from deuterium-tritium (DT) fusion reactions in a magnetic confinement plasma, offering a novel approach to gauge fusion power. This breakthrough, published in the English-language journal *Nuclear Fusion*, was led by Giulia Marcer from the Institute for Plasma Science and Technology at the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche in Milan, Italy, and the Department of Physics at the University of Milano-Bicocca.
The Joint European Torus (JET), the world’s largest operational tokamak, conducted its second DT campaign at the end of 2021, providing a unique opportunity for this groundbreaking research. Marcer and her team employed a single line of sight gamma-ray spectrometer to measure the total gamma-ray emission from the DT fusion reaction, a less probable but crucial electromagnetic counterpart to the main neutronic decay channel.
“The challenges were numerous,” Marcer explained, “from characterizing the detector beamline and its detection efficiency in absolute terms to handling the high event rate at the detector and discriminating between signal and background in the acquired energy spectrum.” The team successfully addressed these hurdles, validating their results through a comparison with neutron yields provided by JET’s neutron monitors. The correlation was remarkable, with a linear correlation coefficient of 0.983.
This research demonstrates the feasibility of using gamma-ray emission as a secondary indicator for measuring fusion power in magnetically confined DT plasmas. The implications for the energy sector are profound. As fusion energy inches closer to commercial viability, accurate and reliable measurement techniques are essential for optimizing reactor performance and ensuring safety.
“The potential impact on the energy sector is significant,” Marcer noted. “This method could provide a complementary tool for monitoring fusion reactions, enhancing our ability to control and predict fusion power output.”
The findings pave the way for future developments in fusion energy, offering a new perspective on how we measure and understand the complex processes involved in fusion reactions. As the world seeks sustainable and clean energy solutions, this research brings us one step closer to harnessing the power of fusion, a process that powers the stars and promises a bright future for energy generation on Earth.