The prospects for achieving net energy production with pB11 fuel have recently considerably brightened. Studies have shown that the multi-GG field potentially obtainable with modest dense plasma focus devices have the effect of reducing the flow of energy from the ions to the electrons and thus suppressing bremsstrahlung radiation that cools the plasma. We report here on new simulations that indicate that net energy production may be achievable in high-magnetic-field devices at peak currents as low as 2.3 MA. While these simulations only model the dense plasmoid formed in the focus, new simulation techniques can allow a full particle-in-cell simulation of DPF functioning over the wide range of time and space scales needed. Such simulations will be of great value in the next round of experiments that will use pB11 fuel.
Newton-Raphson method in complex space is used to numerically solve the transcendental dispersion relation of low frequency shear Alfven waves in fusion plasmas. The equation exhibits several physically relevant basins of attraction. The method is shown to be efficient and fast in solving this equation, with very small portion of non-converging points.
Magnetized Plasma Target for Plasma-Jet-Driven Magneto-Inertial Fusion
我们确定了β>1磁化等离子体的所需特性和参数，可能具有高度缠结的开放场线，这可能是一个合适的目标，可以通过球形内爆等离子体衬垫压缩到聚变条件[S. C. Hsu等人，IEEE等离子体科学学报40，1287（2012）]通过合并高超音速等离子体射流形成。这个概念被称为等离子体射流驱动的磁惯性聚变（PJMIF）。我们对靶和衬管设定了要求，使得（a）压缩加热在靶中的热传输上占主导地位，以及（b）由于压缩的磁放大在整个内爆中在耗散上占主导地位。我们还评估了要求，以避免漂移不稳定性引起的异常运输和电流驱动的异常电阻率的目标。接下来，我们描述了产生这种磁化的β>1等离子体靶的可能方法。最后，假设这样的目标可以创建，我们评估的可行性的概念验证实验，使用目前可实现的等离子体射流，以证明目标压缩加热在等离子体衬垫动能<~ 100千焦（几百倍以下，需要在PJMIF反应堆）。
Turbulent plasmas notably self-organize to higher energy states upon application of additional free energy sources or modification of edge operating conditions. Mechanisms whereby such bifurcations occur have been actively debated for decades. Enhanced confinement occurs at the plasma edge, where a shortfall of predicted turbulence intensity has been puzzling scientists for decades. We show, from the primitive kinetic equations that both problems are connected and that interplay of confined plasma turbulence with its material boundaries is essential to curing the shortfall of predicted turbule…
Velocity-space anisotropy can significantly modify fusion reactivity. The nature and magnitude of this modification depends on the plasma temperature, as well as the details of how the anisotropy is introduced. For plasmas that are sufficiently cold compared to the peak of the fusion cross-section, anisotropic distributions tend to have higher yields than isotropic distributions with the same thermal energy. At higher temperatures, it is instead isotropic distributions that have the highest yields. However, the details of this behavior depend on exactly how the distribution differs from an iso…
A numerical workflow is developed to explore the viability of running multiple plasma configurations in the ARC fusion pilot plant. Suitable cost functions for various poloidal field coil sets are evaluated based on currents required in the coils, induced stresses, and flexibility in plasma configurations. It is shown, for the first time, that a given set of poloidal field coils can sustain equilibria with both signs of triangularity and that equilibria at Negative Triangularity have comparable coil requirements to those at Positive Triangularity, despite ARC's Positive Triangularity design eq…
The possibility of fusion ignition in proton-Boron$^{11}$ plasma is strongly enhanced if the energy from the fusion-produced $α$ particles is channeled to fast protons, but in an environment in which most of the protons are thermally distributed. This hybrid of thermonuclear fusion and beam-plasma fusion offers surprisingly large advantages to either purely thermonuclear or purely beam-plasma fusion, neither of which can by themselves significantly exceed the large bremsstrahlung radiation emitted by the proton-Boron$^{11}$ plasma. The hybrid scheme has the potential to reduce the confinement …
This document is the final report of the Community Planning Process (CPP) that describes a comprehensive plan to deliver fusion energy and to advance plasma science. The CPP was initiated by the executive committee of the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics (APS DPP) to help the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (FESAC) fulfill a charge from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a strategic plan for the DOE Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES). In this charge, dated Nov 30, 2018, DOE Deputy Director for Science Dr. Stephen Binkley requested that FESAC "under…
Ideally, binary-collision algorithms conserve kinetic momentum and energy. In practice, the finite size of collision cells and the finite difference in the particle locations affect the conservation properties. In the present work, we investigate numerically how the accuracy of these algorithms is affected when the size of collision cells is large compared with gradient scale length of the background plasma, a parameter essential in full-f fusion plasma simulations. Additionally, we discuss implications for the conserved quantities in drift-kinetic formulations when fluctuating magnetic and el…
Megaelectron volt (MeV) alpha particles will be the main source of plasma heating in magnetic confinement fusion reactors. Yet, instead of heating fuel ions, most of the energy of alpha particles is transferred to electrons. Furthermore, alpha particles can also excite Alfvenic instabilities, previously considered as detrimental. Contrary to expectations, we demonstrate efficient ion heating in the presence of MeV ions and strong fast-ion driven Alfvenic instabilities in recent experiments on the Joint European Torus (JET). Detailed transport analysis of these experiments with state-of-the-art…
The stellarator as a concept of magnetic confinement fusion requires careful design to confine particles effectively. A design possibility is to equip the magnetic field with a property known as quasisymmetry. Though it is generally believed that a steady-state quasisymmetric equilibrium can only be exact locally (unless the system has a direction of continuous symmetry such as the tokamak), we suggest in this work that a change in the equilibrium paradigm can ameliorate this limitation. We demonstrate that there exists a deep physical connection between quasisymmetry and magnetostatic equilib…
Long-pulse operation of a self-sustained fusion reactor using toroidal magnetic containment requires control over the content of alpha particles produced by D-T fusion reactions. On the one hand, MeV-class alpha particles must stay confined to heat the plasma. On the other hand, decelerated helium ash must be expelled before diluting the fusion fuel. Our kinetic-magnetohydrodynamic hybrid simulations of a large tokamak plasma confirm the existence of a parameter window where such energy-selective confinement can be accomplished by exploiting internal relaxation events known as `sawtooth crashe…
Fusion-graded plasmas are one of the physically complex systems, resulting in continuous establishment of plasma theories for unclarified physical phenomena in order to thoroughly control nuclear fusion reactors. Deep learning has drawn vast attention to this field of controlled fusion plasma to link physical phenomena with control-relevant parameters without a deepened understanding about plasma theories. Albeit, quantifying the uncertainty of deep learning models has been constantly requested due to their fundamental shortage of physical understanding. Thus, a concept of a reliable deep lear…
