On the 24th of June, our group leader Mervi Mantsinen had the honour of being one of the members of the PhD examination committee of Ivana Abramović at the Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands.
The research of Dr Ivana Abramović concerns the development of collective Thomson scattering (CTS) for diagnosing fusion plasmas using microwaves. The technique is unique in its capability to measure a number of important plasma parameters simultaneously. A CTS measurement results in a spectrum from which values of desired plasma parameters can be inferred.
Abramović developed a model which allows calculation of synthetic CTS spectra based on a set of input parameters. By integrating it into a so-called Bayesian scientific framework it allows one to calculate posterior probability distributions of input parameters. The eCTS tool has successfully been used to analyze the first CTS spectra obtained on W7-X. The work also furthers CTS theory by extending the set of parameters measurable by the CTS diagnostic to include the radial electric field and enables exploration of anisotropic temperature effects.
Finally, the work explores experimental challenges hindering optimal performance of CTS as well as data analysis related challenges which stand in the way of using this diagnostic to its full potential.
Please see here for the full copy of her thesis.