Synchrotron Radiation
Synchrotron radiation is emitted as electrons spiral in the magnetic field. At high field it matters — Kronos budgets 158 MW and relies on wall reflectivity.
- Cause
- Electrons gyrating in the magnetic field
- Scales with
- Magnetic field and electron temperature
- Kronos value
- 158 MW at wall reflectivity R_wall = 0.90 (Mode D)
- Mitigation
- Reflective first wall recycles the radiation
Synchrotron radiation (also called cyclotron radiation) is light emitted by electrons as they spiral around magnetic field lines. Because it scales strongly with magnetic field, it becomes a meaningful loss channel in a high-field machine like Kronos MetroVolt — precisely where 24.42 T magnets buy their performance.
Kronos budgets synchrotron loss at 158 MW at the Mode-D operating point, contingent on a first wall that reflects most of the radiation back into the plasma — an effective wall reflectivity of R_wall = 0.90 in the baseline, with a more conservative 0.80 carried as a sensitivity. Unlike bremsstrahlung, much of the synchrotron power can be recycled by a reflective wall rather than simply lost.