Quasi-Isodynamic Stellarators with Low Turbulence as Fusion Reactor Candidates

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. Published by the American Physical Society 2024