Energetic particle tracing in optimized quasi-symmetric stellarator equilibria

Abstract

Recent developments in the design of magnetic confinement fusion devices have allowed the construction of exceptionally optimized stellarator configurations. The near-axis expansion in particular has been proven to enable the construction of magnetic configurations with good confinement properties while taking only a fraction of the usual computation time to generate optimized magnetic equilibria. However, not much is known about the overall features of fast-particle orbits computed in such analytical, yet simplified, equilibria when compared with those originating from accurate equilibrium solutions. This work aims to assess and demonstrate the potential of the near-axis expansion to provide accurate information on particle orbits and to compute loss fractions in moderate to high aspect ratios. The configurations used here are all scaled to fusion-relevant parameters and approximate quasi-symmetry to various degrees. This allows us to understand how deviations from quasi-symmetry affect particle orbits and what are their effects on the estimation of the loss fraction. Guiding-centre trajectories of fusion-born alpha particles are traced using gyronimo and SIMPLE codes under the NEAT framework, showing good numerical agreement. Discrepancies between near-axis and magnetohydrodynamic fields have minor effects on passing particles but significant effects on trapped particles, especially in quasi-helically symmetric magnetic fields. Effective expressions were found for estimating orbit widths and passing–trapped separatrix in quasi-symmetric near-axis fields. Loss fractions agree in the prompt losses regime but diverge afterwards.