Strategies for Advantageous Differential Transport of Ions in Magnetic Fusion Devices

TL;DR

This paper investigates how additional forces like gravity or rotation influence ion transport in magnetized plasmas, revealing regimes where ion species distribution can be controlled for fusion and filtering applications.

Contribution

It introduces a new regime where ion species distribution is affected by combined forces, extending understanding of collisional pinch effects in rotating plasmas.

Findings

Ion distribution can be manipulated by external forces.

A regime exists where outermost ions are intermediate in mass and charge.

Implications for fusion device optimization and plasma mass filtering.

Abstract

In a variety of magnetized plasma geometries, it has long been known that highly charged impurities tend to accumulate in regions of higher density. Here, we examine how this "collisional pinch" changes in the presence of additional forces, such as might be found in systems with gravity, fast rotation, or non-negligible space charge. In the case of a rotating, cylindrical plasma, we describe a regime in which the radially outermost ion species is intermediate in both mass and charge. We discuss implications for fusion devices and plasma mass filters.