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Moenir Sakieldien dissertation thesis was to firstly develop a plasma parameter which could be used to benchmark numerical simulations and secondly to develop the current understanding of the plasma processes occurring in Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source (ECRIS) plasmas. The work has been carried out in collaboration with the Accelerator laboratory of the Department of Physics at the Ģ��ֱ��, Finland and at iThemba LABS in South Africa, including experiments at both labs.

Simulating the so-called fourth state of matter i.e. plasma state

It is often estimated that 99 % of the matter in the universe is in a so-called plasma state. Understanding plasma behaviour is of utmost importance for amongst others possible future energy generation exploiting the process of nuclear fusion and for ion extraction from laboratory plasmas. The latter process is of particular importance to the study of nuclear interactions. Simulating plasmas are hugely complex largely due to the enormous number of participating particles. The need for a direct plasma parameter against which the results of numerical simulations on ECRIS plasmas can be benchmarked has long been identified by the simulations community. The first achievement of the research performed in this study was to develop a novel plasma parameter which meets the criteria set for benchmarking numerical simulation on ECRIS plasmas.

- The plasma parameter was measured as a function of a number of so-called source tune parameters on two independent sources. The results measured on the two source were consistent which gives impetus to using the parameter for benchmarking purposes., mention

Enhancing fundamental nuclear and applied research capabilities

The second achievement of the research was to use the developed plasma diagnostic to progress the current understanding of fundamental plasma process occurring in ECRIS plasmas. The plasma of an ECRIS is used to extract positively charged particles which are frequently further accelerated using a particle accelerator. By increasing both the amount as well as the energy of the accelerated ion species the possibility to study new areas of research such as the production of previously unknown elements becomes possible.

- With the research performed it was observed that the electron flux expelled from the confinement system of an ECRIS plasma scales with the injected microwave power. This process ultimately limits source performance hence understanding it informs future ECRIS design, says

Additional information was also gathered on the mechanisms resulting in enhanced ion production using special techniques such as the so-called double frequency heating and gas mixing. This is of immense benefit to the nuclear physics community as it makes it possible to study new nuclear interactions.

M.Sc. Moenir Sakieldien’s PhD dissertation "Characteristic Kα emission of Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source Plasmas" will be held on Friday August 31 at 12:00 pm in the Auditorium FYS1. Opponent is Docent Laurent Maunoury (Grand Accélérator National dÍons Lourds, France) and the Custos is Docent Hannu Koivisto (Ģ��ֱ��). The doctoral thesis is in English.

Additional information:

• Moenir Sakieldien, muneer@tlabs.ac.za
• Communications Officer Elina Leskinen, viestinta@jyu.fi, +358 50 581 8351

Moenir Sakieldien matriculated from Aloe Senior Secondary School in Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town. He graduated in 2012 from the University of the Western Cape with a Master’s Degree in Science. Moenir is currently working as a physicist at iThemba LABS (Laboratory for Accelerator Based Science) in Cape Town, South Africa.

The book is published in the Department of Physics, Ģ��ֱ��, Report No. 6. ISSN 0075-465X, ISBN 978-951-39-7492-3 (pdf), ISBN 978-951-39-7491-6 (print). Link to thesis: