Back to the figure-8 stellarator
G G Plunk, M Drevlak, E Rodríguez, R Babin, A Goodman, F Hindenlang
Abstract
Abstract The first stellarator design was a simple tube of plasma twisted and closed on itself in the form of a figure-8. The line of such devices, however, was quickly ended over concerns related to plasma stability. We revisit the figure-8 concept, re-imagined as a modern optimized stellarator, and find the potential for a high degree of stability, as well as exceptionally simple construction. In particular, the design that we find admits planar coils, and is the first quasi-isodynamic stellarator design to have this property. Our work is made possible by recent theoretical progress in the near-axis theory of quasi-isodynamic stellarators, combined with fundamental progress in the numerical solution of three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic equilibria that cannot be well represented using traditional cylindrical coordinates.
BibTeX
@article{Plunk_2025,
title={Back to the figure-8 stellarator},
volume={67},
ISSN={1361-6587},
url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587/adb64b},
DOI={10.1088/1361-6587/adb64b},
number={3},
journal={Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion},
publisher={IOP Publishing},
author={Plunk, G G and Drevlak, M and Rodríguez, E and Babin, R and Goodman, A and Hindenlang, F},
year={2025},
month=feb,
pages={035025} }