Abstract
The first physics operation phase on the stellarator experiment Wendelstein 7-X was successfully completed in March 2016 after about 10 weeks of operation. Experiments in this phase were conducted with five graphite limiters as the primary plasma-facing components. Overall, the results were beyond the expectations published shortly before the start of operation [Sunn Pedersen et al., Nucl. Fusion 55, 126001 (2015)] both with respect to parameters reached and with respect to physics themes addressed. We report here on some of the most important plasma experiments that were conducted. The importance of electric fields on global confinement will be discussed, and the obtained results will be compared and contrasted with results from other devices, quantified in terms of the fusion triple product. Expected values for the triple product in future operation phases will also be described and put into a broader fusion perspective.
Highlights
This paper was selected as FeaturedThe first physics operation phase on the stellarator experiment Wendelstein 7-X was successfully completed in March 2016 after about 10 weeks of operation
The Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) experiment1 is the most advanced stellarator in the world today
With confinement volumes of approximately 30 m3, the Large Helical Device (LHD) heliotron and W7-X stellarator share the status of being the largest stellarators taken into operation to date
Summary
The first physics operation phase on the stellarator experiment Wendelstein 7-X was successfully completed in March 2016 after about 10 weeks of operation. Experiments in this phase were conducted with five graphite limiters as the primary plasma-facing components. The results were beyond the expectations published shortly before the start of operation [Sunn Pedersen et al, Nucl. The importance of electric fields on global confinement will be discussed, and the obtained results will be compared and contrasted with results from other devices, quantified in terms of the fusion triple product. Expected values for the triple product in future operation phases will be described and put into a broader fusion perspective.
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