Stable Deuterium-Tritium burning plasmas with improved confinement in the presence of energetic-ion instabilities

TL;DR

This paper reports on new stable Deuterium-Tritium plasmas with improved confinement in tokamaks, achieved through experiments at JET, advancing fusion energy research by understanding energetic-ion instabilities.

Contribution

It presents the first stable, high confinement D-T plasma regime with reduced energy losses, providing insights into energetic-ion effects in fusion plasmas.

Findings

Discovery of a stable, impurity-free D-T plasma regime

Significant reduction in energy losses compared to pure D plasmas

Enhanced understanding of energetic-ion effects on plasma confinement

Abstract

Providing stable and clean energy sources is a necessity for the increasing demands of humanity. Energy produced by fusion reactions, in particular in tokamaks, is a promising path towards that goal. However, there is little experience with plasmas under conditions close to those expected in future fusion reactors, because it requires the fusion of Deuterium (D) and Tritium (T), while most of the experiments are currently performed in pure D. After more than 20 years, the Joint European Torus (JET) has carried out new D-T experiments with the aim of exploring the unique characteristics of burning D-T plasmas, such as the presence of highly energetic ions. A new stable, high confinement and impurity-free D-T regime, with strong reduction of energy losses with respect to D, has been found. Multiscale physics mechanisms critically determine the thermal confinement and the fusion power yield. These crucial achievements importantly contribute to the establishment of fusion energy generation as an alternative to fossil fuels.