bruce lipschultz

Senior Scientist , Alcator Project
	Email: blip@psfc.mit.edu Phone: (617) 253-8636 Address: Room NW17-103 Related links: Alcator Project

Research Interests

Dr. Lipschultz’s primary emphasis is on the plasma physics of low-temperature (0.5-100 eV), moderate density (0.001 - 3 x 1021 m-3) plasmas that exist at the edge of fusion-related devices.  This includes studies of ion & neutral transport, the atomic physics of the local processes (e.g. ion recombination and line radiation), ion-surface interactions and material studies

Education

Ph.D. Physics, University of Wisconsin Madison 1979

BS Physics, U. Maryland 1975

BS Mathematics, U. Maryland 1975

Biographical Sketch

While Dr. Lipschultz’s doctoral thesis led to the first experimental verification of the MHD vertical instability (now commonly called a VDE which leads to disruptions) he quickly moved on to the physics of the plasma at the edge of tokamaks upon reaching MIT. His Alcator C tokamak work included the discovery and initial model for the ‘MARFE’ phenomenon which is a common feature of tokamaks, playing a role in fueling and density limits. The MARFE is a unique combination of atomic and classical transport physics. This radiation-condensation instability is also found in solar prominences.

His participation in the Alcator DCT design (1984) led him to develop the vertical plate divertor design. This design has been incorporated into virtually every operating divertor tokamak, as well as into the designs for next step devices such as ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). This advance simplified the geometry of divertors by combining the divertor plate and entrance baffle. Physics benefits include: enhanced recycling of ions as neutrals near the plate lowering electron temperatures and impurity sources; minimization of impurity neutral access to the hot core plasma (neutral impurities leave the surface directed away from the core plasma).

Dr. Lipschultz has coordinated the divertor and edge plasma research at Alcator C-Mod from its inception. His work as part of this effort included the determination of the effect of geometry on divertor detachment (physics as well as density threshold), the quantification of ion loss through 3-body recombination in the divertor, and the characterization of molybdenum erosion and transport at plasma-impacted surfaces along with their effect on the hot core plasma.

More recently Dr. Lipschultz has moved his research emphasis more to the edge plasma than the divertor making contributions to the understanding of radial transport and the effect of neutral leakage from the divertor. He has been very actively engaged in coordinated divertor/edge plasma studies among multiple tokamak facilities, including DIII-D, JET and JT60-U in the area of anomalous scrape-off layer cross-field particle transport.

Dr. Lipschultz is co-chair the ITPA (International Tokamak Physics Activity) Divertor/edge plasma group.  This group coordinates international research on a number of issues ranging from materials to materials interactions to the physics of plasma and neutral transport in the edge and divertor plasmas. Dr. Lipschultz also serves on the program committee for the Plasma Surface Interactions Conference, the primary venue for researchers in plasma-surface interactions and low-temperature plasmas. Most recently he chaired the committee and the 16th International Conference (May 2004, Portland Maine

Selected Publications

B. Lipschultz, B. LaBombard, C.S. Pitcher & R. Boivin, ‘Investigation of the origin of neutrals in the main chamber of Alcator C-Mod’, Plasma Phys. & Controlled Fusion (2002) 733.

B. Lipschultz, D.A. Pappas, B. LaBombard et al., ‘A study of molybdenum influxes and transport in Alcator C-Mod’, Nuclear Fusion 41 (2001) 585.

B. Lipschultz, J.L. Terry, C. Boswell et al., ‘The role of particle sinks and sources in Alcator C-Mod detached divertor discharges', Phys. Plasmas, 86 (1999) 1907.

B. Lipschultz, J.L. Terry, C. Boswell et al., 'Ultra-high densities and volume recombination inside the separatrix of the Alcator C-Mod tokamak', Phys. Rev. Letters, 81 (1998) 1007. 

B. LaBombard, and B. Lipschultz, `Poloidal Asymmetries in the Alcator-C Edge Plasma', Nucl. Fusion 27 (1987) 81.

B.  Lipschultz, I.  Hutchinson, B.  LaBombard & A.  Wan, ‘Electric Probes in Plasmas’, J.  Vac.  Sci.  Technology A, 4 (1986) 1810.

B. Lipschultz, B. LaBombard, H.L. Manning et al., ‘Impurity Sources during lower hybrid heating on Alcator’, Nucl., Fusion 26 (1986) 1463.

B. Lipschultz, B. LaBombard, E.S. Marmar et al., `MARFE:  An Edge Plasma Phenomenon,' Nucl. Fusion 24 (1984) 977.

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