Optimization of passive superconductors for shaping stellarator magnetic fields

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel optimization approach for passive superconducting coils in stellarators, focusing on coil configuration to shape magnetic fields passively, with applications demonstrated on four stellarator designs.

Contribution

It presents the first joint optimization of coil shape, orientation, and placement for passive superconducting coils in stellarators, integrating background magnetic field effects.

Findings

Optimized coil configurations for four stellarators.

Demonstrated passive stabilization using coil arrays.

Enhanced magnetic field shaping without active power supplies.

Abstract

We consider the novel problem of optimizing a large set of passive superconducting coils (PSCs) with currents induced by a background magnetic field rather than power supplies. In the nuclear fusion literature, such coils have been proposed to partially produce the 3D magnetic fields for stellarators and provide passive stabilization. We perform the first optimizations of PSC arrays with respect to the orientation, shape, and location of each coil, jointly minimized with the background fields. We conclude by generating passive coil array solutions for four stellarators.