Work

Piecewise Omnigenous Stellarators

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: In omnigenous magnetic fields, charged particles are perfectly confined in the absence of collisions and turbulence. For this reason, the magnetic configuration is optimized to be close to omnigenity in any candidate for a stellarator fusion reactor. However, approaching omnigenity imposes severe constraints on the spatial variation of the magnetic field. In particular, the topology of the contours of constant magnetic field strength on each magnetic surface must be such that there are no particles transitioning between different types of wells. This, in turn, usually leads to complicated plasma shapes and coils. This Letter presents a new family of optimized fields that display tokamak-like collisional energy transport while having transitioning particles. This result radically broadens the space of accessible reactor-relevant configurations.

Source: Physical Review Letters

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.133.185101

Authors: J. L. Velasco, I. Calvo, F. J. Escoto, E. Sánchez, H. Thienpondt, F. I. Parra

Institutions: Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

Language: English

Topic: Magnetic confinement fusion research

Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,750