Quasi-isodynamic stellarators with low turbulence as fusion reactor candidates

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new design approach for stellarators that enhances plasma stability, confinement, and turbulence reduction, advancing the development of practical fusion reactors.

Contribution

A novel method for designing stellarator magnetic fields that optimize stability, confinement, and turbulence suppression for fusion energy.

Findings

Improved plasma confinement in designed stellarators.

Reduced turbulence compared to existing stellarator configurations.

Enhanced stability properties suitable for reactor applications.

Abstract

The stellarator is a type of fusion energy device that - if properly designed - could provide clean, safe, and abundant energy to the grid. To generate this energy, a stellarator must keep a hot mixture of charged particles (known as a plasma) sufficiently confined by using a fully shaped magnetic field. If this is achieved, the heat from fusion reactions within the plasma can be harvested as energy. We present a novel method for designing reactor-relevant stellarator magnetic fields, which combine several key physical properties. These include plasma stability, excellent confinement of the fast moving particles generated by fusion reactions, and reduction of the turbulence that is known to limit the performance of the most advanced stellarator experiment in the world, Wendelstein 7-X.