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M. Landreman

Publications and source records attributed to M. Landreman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Omnigenous umbilic stellarators

To better understand the dependence of the magnetic field structure in the plasma edge on the plasma boundary shape, in the context of X-point and island divertor designs, we define and develop a class of stellarators called umbilic stellarators. These equilibria are characterized by a single continuous high-curvature edge on the plasma boundary that goes around multiple times toroidally before meeting itself. We develop a technique that allows us to simultaneously optimize the plasma boundary along with a curve lying on the boundary on which we impose a high curvature while imposing omnigenity -- a property of the magnetic field that ensures trapped particle confinement throughout the plasma volume. We find that umbilic stellarators naturally tend to favor piecewise omnigenity instead of omnigenity with a specific helicity. After generating omnigenous umbilic stellarators, we design coil sets for some of them and explore the field line structure in the edge and its sensitivity to small fluctuations in the plasma. Finally, using single-stage optimization, we simultaneously modify the plasma and coil shape and propose an experiment to modify an existing tokamak to a finite-beta stellarator using this technique and explore a potentially simpler way to convert a limited tokamak into a diverted stellarator.

physics.plasm-ph

MONKES: a fast neoclassical code for the evaluation of monoenergetic transport coefficients

MONKES is a new neoclassical code for the evaluation of monoenergetic transport coefficients in stellarators. By means of a convergence study and benchmarks with other codes, it is shown that MONKES is accurate and efficient. The combination of spectral discretization in spatial and velocity coordinates with block sparsity allows MONKES to compute monoenergetic coefficients at low collisionality, in a single core, in approximately one minute. MONKES is sufficiently fast to be integrated into stellarator optimization codes for direct optimization of the bootstrap current and to be included in predictive transport suites. The code and data from this paper are available at https://github.com/JavierEscoto/MONKES/

physics.plasm-ph

Direct Microstability Optimization of Stellarator Devices

Turbulent transport is regarded as one of the key issues in magnetic confinement nuclear fusion, both for tokamaks in stellarators. In this work, we show that a significant decrease in a microstability-based proxy, as opposed to a geometric one, for the turbulent heat flux, namely the quasilinear heat flux, can be obtained in an efficient manner by coupling stellarator optimization with linear gyrokinetic simulations. This is accomplished by computing the quasi-linear heat flux at each step of the optimization process, as well as the deviation from quasisymmetry, and minimizing their sum, leading to a balance between neoclassical and turbulent transport proxy.

physics.plasm-ph

Flexible Stellarator Physics Facility

We propose to build a Flexible Stellarator Physics Facility to explore promising regions of the vast parameter space of disruption-free stellarator solutions for Fusion Pilot Plants (FPPs).

physics.plasm-ph

Single-Stage Stellarator Optimization: Combining Coils with Fixed Boundary Equilibria

We introduce a novel approach for the simultaneous optimization of plasma physics and coil engineering objectives using fixed-boundary equilibria that is computationally efficient and applicable to a broad range of vacuum and finite plasma pressure scenarios. Our approach treats the plasma boundary and coil shapes as independently optimized variables, penalizing the mismatch between the two using a quadratic flux term in the objective function. Four use cases are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach, including simple and complex stellarator geometries. As shown here, this method outperforms previous 2-stage approaches, achieving smaller plasma objective function values when coils are taken into account.

physics.plasm-ph

Energetic particle loss mechanisms in reactor-scale equilibria close to quasisymmetry

Collisionless physics primarily determines the transport of fusion-born alpha particles in 3D equilibria. Several transport mechanisms have been implicated in stellarator configurations, including stochastic diffusion due to class transitions, ripple trapping, and banana drift-convective orbits. Given the guiding center dynamics in a set of six quasihelical and quasiaxisymmetric equilibria, we perform a classification of trapping states and transport mechanisms. In addition to banana drift convection and ripple transport, we observe substantial non-conservation of the parallel adiabatic invariant which can cause losses through diffusive banana tip motion. Furthermore, many lost trajectories undergo transitions between trapping classes on longer time scales, either with periodic or irregular behavior. We discuss possible optimization strategies for each of the relevant transport mechanisms. We perform a comparison between fast ion losses and metrics for the prevalence of mechanisms such as banana-drift convection [1], transitioning orbits, and wide orbit widths. Quasihelical configurations are found to have natural protection against ripple-trapping and diffusive banana tip motion leading to a reduction in prompt losses.

physics.plasm-ph

A single-field-period quasi-isodynamic stellarator

A single-field-period quasi-isodynamic stellarator configuration is presented. This configuration, which resembles a twisted strip, is obtained by the method of direct construction, that is, it is found via an expansion in the distance from the magnetic axis. Its discovery, however, relied on an additional step involving numerical optimization, performed within the space of near-axis configurations defined by a set of adjustable magnetic-field parameters. This optimization, completed in 30 seconds on a single cpu core using the SIMSOPT code, yields a solution with excellent confinement, as measured by the conventional figure of merit for neoclassical transport, effective ripple, at a modest aspect ratio of eight. The optimization parameters that led to this configuration are described, its confinement properties are assessed, and a set of magnetic-field coils is found. The resulting transport at low collisionality is much smaller than that of W7-X, and the device needs significantly fewer coils thanks to the reduced number of field periods.

physics.plasm-ph

Stellarator optimization for nested magnetic surfaces at finite $β$ and toroidal current

Good magnetic surfaces, as opposed to magnetic islands and chaotic field lines, are generally desirable for stellarators. In previous work, M. Landreman et al. [Phys. of Plasmas 28, 092505 (2021)] showed that equilibria computed by the Stepped-Pressure Equilibrium Code (SPEC) [S. P. Hudson et al., Phys. Plasmas 19, 112502 (2012)] could be optimized for good magnetic surfaces in vacuum. In this paper, we build upon their work to show the first finite-$β$, fixed- and free-boundary optimization of SPEC equilibria for good magnetic surfaces. The objective function is constructed with the Greene's residue of selected rational surfaces and the optimization is driven by the SIMSOPT framework [M. Landreman et al., J. Open Source Software 6, 3525 (2021)]. We show that the size of magnetic islands and the consequent regions occupied by chaotic field lines can be minimized in a classical stellarator geometry by optimizing either the injected toroidal current profile, the shape of a perfectly conducting wall surrounding the plasma (fixed-boundary case), or the coils (free-boundary case), in a reasonable amount of computational time. This work shows that SPEC can be used as an equilibrium code both in a two-step or single-step stellarator optimization loop.

physics.plasm-ph

Ion-temperature-gradient stability near the magnetic axis of quasisymmetric stellarators

The stability of the ion-temperature gradient mode in quasisymmetric stellarators is assessed. This is performed using a set of analytical estimates together with linear gyrokinetic simulations. The peak growth rates, their corresponding real frequencies and wave-vectors are identified. A comparison is made between a first-order near-axis expansion model and eleven realistic designs obtained using numerical optimization methods. It is found that while the near-axis expansion is able to replicate the growth rates, real frequencies and perpendicular wave-vector at the inner core (both using simplified dispersion relations and first-principle gyrokinetic simulations), it leads to an overestimation of the growth rate at larger radii. An approximate analytic solution of the ITG dispersion relation for the non-resonant limit suggests growth rates could be systematically higher in quasi-axisymmetric (QA) configurations compared to quasi-helically (QH) symmetric ones. However except for very close to the axis, linear gyrokinetic simulations do not show systematic differences between QA and QH configurations.

physics.plasm-ph

The Use of Near-Axis Magnetic Fields for Stellarator Turbulence Simulations

The design of turbulence optimized stellarators has so far relied on three-dimensional equilibrium codes such as VMEC in order to find the minimum of a given objective function. In this work, we propose a complimentary approach based on the near-axis expansion to compute the geometry parameters of neoclassicaly optimized stellarators used in turbulence studies. As shown here, the near-axis expansion can be a reasonable approximation of the geometric parameters relevant for turbulence and stability simulations of the core of existing optimized stellarator designs. In particular, we examine the geometry coefficients that appear in the gyrokinetic equation, the drift-reduced fluid equations and the ideal ballooning equation. This approach may allow for the development of new stellarator optimization techniques significantly faster than conventional methods.

physics.plasm-ph

A New Optimized Quasihelically SymmetricStellarator

A new optimized quasihelically symmetric configuration is described that has the desir-able properties of improved energetic particle confinement, reduced turbulent transportby 3D shaping, and non-resonant divertor capabilities. The configuration presented in thispaper is explicitly optimized for quasihelical symmetry, energetic particle confinement,neoclassical confinement, and stability near the axis. Post optimization, the configurationwas evaluated for its performance with regard to energetic particle transport, idealmagnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability at various values of plasma pressure, and iontemperature gradient instability induced turbulent transport. The effect of discrete coilson various confinement figures of merit, including energetic particle confinement, aredetermined by generating single-filament coils for the configuration. Preliminary divertoranalysis shows that coils can be created that do not interfere with expansion of thevessel volume near the regions of outgoing heat flux, thus demonstrating the possibilityof operating a non-resonant divertor.

physics.plasm-ph

Construction of Quasisymmetric Stellarators Using a Direct Coordinate Approach

Optimized stellarator configurations and their analytical properties are obtained using a near-axis expansion approach. Such configurations are associated with good confinement as the guiding center particle trajectories and neoclassical transport are isomorphic to those in a tokamak. This makes them appealing as fusion reactor candidates. Using a direct coordinate approach, where the magnetic field and flux surface functions are found explicitly in terms of the position vector at successive orders in the distance to the axis, the set of ordinary differential equations for first and second order quasisymmetry is derived. Examples of quasi-axisymmetric shapes are constructed using a pseudospectral numerical method. Finally, the direct coordinate approach is used to independently verify two hypotheses commonly associated with quasisymmetric magnetic fields, namely that the number of equations exceeds the number of parameters at third order in the expansion and that the near-axis expansion does not prohibit exact quasisymmetry from being achieved on a single flux surface.

physics.plasm-ph

Near-Axis Expansion of Stellarator Equilibrium at Arbitrary Order in the Distance to the Axis

A direct construction of equilibrium magnetic fields with toroidal topology at arbitrary order in the distance from the magnetic axis is carried out, yielding an analytical framework able to explore the landscape of possible magnetic flux surfaces in the vicinity of the axis. This framework can provide meaningful analytical insight on the character of high-aspect-ratio stellarator shapes, such as the dependence of the rotational transform and the plasma beta-limit on geometrical properties of the resulting flux surfaces. The approach developed here is based on an asymptotic expansion on the inverse aspect-ratio of the ideal MHD equation. The analysis is simplified by using an orthogonal coordinate system relative to the Frenet-Serret frame at the magnetic axis. The magnetic field vector, the toroidal magnetic flux, the current density, the field line label and the rotational transform are derived at arbitrary order in the expansion parameter. Moreover, a comparison with a near-axis expansion formalism employing an inverse coordinate method based on Boozer coordinates (the so-called Garren-Boozer construction) is made, where both methods are shown to agree at lowest order. Finally, as a practical example, a numerical solution using a W7-X equilibrium is presented, and a comparison between the lowest order solution and the W7-X magnetic field is performed.

physics.plasm-ph

Direct construction of optimized stellarator shapes. III. Omnigenity near the magnetic axis

The condition of omnigenity is investigated, and applied to the near-axis expansion of Garren and Boozer (1991a). Due in part to the particular analyticity requirements of the near-axis expansion, we find that, excluding quasi-symmetric solutions, only one type of omnigenity, namely quasi-isodynamicity, can be satisfied at first order in the distance from the magnetic axis. Our construction provides a parameterization of the space of such solutions, and the cylindrical reformulation and numerical method of Landreman and Sengupta (2018); Landreman et al. (2019), enables their efficient numerical construction.

physics.plasm-ph

On-surface potential and radial electric field variations in electron root stellarator plasmas

In the present work we report recent radial electric field measurements carried out with the Doppler reflectometry system in the TJ-II stellarator. The study focuses on the fact that, under some conditions, the radial electric field measured at different points over the same flux surface shows significantly different values. A numerical analysis is carried out considering the contribution arising from the radial dependence of $Φ_1$ as a possible correction term to the total radial electric field. Here $Φ_1$ is the neoclassical electrostatic potential variation over the surface. The comparison shows good agreement in some aspects, like the conditions under which this correction is large (electron-root conditions) or negligible (ion-root conditions). But it disagrees in others like the sign of the correction. The results are discussed together with the underlying reasons of this partial disagreement. In addition, motivated by the recent installation of the dual Doppler reflectometry system in Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), $Φ_1$ estimations for W7-X are revisited considering Core-Electron-Root-Plasma (CERC) plasmas from its first experimental campaign. The simulations show larger values of $Φ_1$ under electron-root conditions than under ion root ones. The contribution from the kinetic electron response is shown to become important at some radii. All this results in a potential variation size noticeably larger than estimated in our previous work in W7-X \cite{Regana_nf_57_056004_2017} for other plasma parameters and another configuration.

physics.plasm-ph

An adjoint method for gradient-based optimization of stellarator coil shapes

We present a method for stellarator coil design via gradient-based optimization of the coil-winding surface. The REGCOIL (Landreman 2017 Nucl. Fusion 57 046003) approach is used to obtain the coil shapes on the winding surface using a continuous current potential. We apply the adjoint method to calculate derivatives of the objective function, allowing for efficient computation of analytic gradients while eliminating the numerical noise of approximate derivatives. We are able to improve engineering properties of the coils by targeting the root-mean-squared current density in the objective function. We obtain winding surfaces for W7-X and HSX which simultaneously decrease the normal magnetic field on the plasma surface and increase the surface-averaged distance between the coils and the plasma in comparison with the actual winding surfaces. The coils computed on the optimized surfaces feature a smaller toroidal extent and curvature and increased inter-coil spacing. A technique for visualization of the sensitivity of figures of merit to normal surface displacement of the winding surface is presented, with potential applications for understanding engineering tolerances.

physics.plasm-ph

Laguerre-Hermite Pseudo-Spectral Velocity Formulation of Gyrokinetics

First-principles simulations of tokamak turbulence have proven to be of great value in recent decades. We develop a pseudo-spectral velocity formulation of the turbulence equations that smoothly interpolates between the highly efficient but lower resolution 3D gyrofluid representation and the conventional but more expensive 5D gyrokinetic representation. Our formulation is a projection of the nonlinear gyrokinetic equation onto a Laguerre-Hermite velocity-space basis. We discuss issues related to collisions, closures, and entropy. While any collision operator can be used in the formulation, we highlight a model operator that has a particularly sparse Laguerre-Hermite representation, while satisfying conservation laws and the H theorem. Free streaming, magnetic drifts, and nonlinear phase mixing each give rise to closure problems, which we discuss in relation to the instabilities of interest and to free energy conservation. We show that the model is capable of reproducing gyrokinetic results for linear instabilities and zonal flow dynamics. Thus the final model is appropriate for the study of instabilities, turbulence, and transport in a wide range of geometries, including tokamaks and stellarators.

physics.plasm-ph

Rotation and Neoclassical Ripple Transport in ITER

Neoclassical transport in the presence of non-axisymmetric magnetic fields causes a toroidal torque known as neoclassical toroidal viscosity (NTV). The toroidal symmetry of ITER will be broken by the finite number of toroidal field coils and by test blanket modules (TBMs). The addition of ferritic inserts (FIs) will decrease the magnitude of the toroidal field ripple. 3D magnetic equilibria with toroidal field ripple and ferromagnetic structures are calculated for an ITER steady-state scenario using the Variational Moments Equilibrium Code (VMEC). Neoclassical transport quantities in the presence of these error fields are calculated using the Stellarator Fokker-Planck Iterative Neoclassical Conservative Solver (SFINCS). These calculations fully account for $E_r$, flux surface shaping, multiple species, magnitude of ripple, and collisionality rather than applying approximate analytic NTV formulae. As NTV is a complicated nonlinear function of $E_r$, we study its behavior over a plausible range of $E_r$. We estimate the toroidal flow, and hence $E_r$, using a semi-analytic turbulent intrinsic rotation model and NUBEAM calculations of neutral beam torque. The NTV from the $\rvert n \rvert = 18$ ripple dominates that from lower $n$ perturbations of the TBMs. With the inclusion of FIs, the magnitude of NTV torque is reduced by about 75% near the edge. We present comparisons of several models of tangential magnetic drifts, finding appreciable differences only for superbanana-plateau transport at small $E_r$. We find the scaling of calculated NTV torque with ripple magnitude to indicate that ripple-trapping may be a significant mechanism for NTV in ITER. The computed NTV torque without ferritic components is comparable in magnitude to the NBI and intrinsic turbulent torques and will likely damp rotation, but the NTV torque is significantly reduced by the planned ferritic inserts.

physics.plasm-ph