Synchrotron Radiation

Synchrotron radiation is emitted as electrons spiral in the magnetic field. At high field it matters — Kronos budgets 51 MW and relies on wall reflectivity.

Cause

Electrons gyrating in the magnetic field

Scales with

Magnetic field and electron temperature

Kronos value

51 MW at wall reflectivity R_wall = 0.90

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 24.6 T magnets buy their performance.

Kronos budgets synchrotron loss at 51 MW, 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.