|
Over the last six decades, research into controlled nuclear fusion through the magnetic confinement of hot plasmas has been pursued in many countries with the long-term aim of providing a practically inexhaustible, safe and environmentally friendly energy source. In magnetic confinement fusion experiments, stochastic magnetic fields can arise and influence the interplay between three-dimensional (3D) magnetic topology and plasma confinement. Stellarator devices represent an inherent three-dimensional challenge. They make use of the island divertor concept, and stochasticity and magnetic topology therefore play a fundamental role in their operation. In the tokamak line, non-axisymmetric magnetic perturbations, which change the magnetic topology, are applied on the majority of large-scale tokamaks nowadays to control plasma edge stability and transport. Recent research has highlighted the significance of the role that stochasticity and 3D magnetic topology also play in this fundamentally 2D concept. The existence of these stochastic and 3D effects brings tokamak and stellarator physics closer together, and a holistic approach to studying them provides the most promising path to making good progress. Understanding these effects is essential for the success of future fusion devices, and they represent a hot topic in current fusion research. In addition, reversed field pinches offer access to these topics with unique features such as the bifurcation into self-generated 3D equilibria and multi-mode unstable plasma conditions with a high degree of magnetic field stochasticity. Joint discussions of these aspects across the three communities will foster progress on basic as well as applied understanding in these complex branches of high-temperature plasma physics. Therefore, it will be of great interest and scientific importance to share the most up-to-date theories and techniques and to provide a platform for discussion between leading experts in the field. A further major goal of this seminar is to give young scientists the opportunity to enter an active and growing field of research by interacting with world-leading experts. The 11th International workshop on "Stochasticity in Fusion Plasmas (SFP)" is the continuation of the succesful series of meetings. The details on the past meetings can be found here:
|