Stellarator and Heliotron Devices [Hardcover]

This monograph describes plasma physics for magnetic confinement of high temperature plasmas in nonaxisymmetric toroidal magnetic fields or stellarators. The techniques are aimed at controlling nuclear fusion for continuous energy production. While the focus is on the nonaxisymmetric toroidal field, or heliotron, developed at Kyoto University, the physics applies equally to other stellarators and axisymmetric tokamaks. The author covers all aspects of magnetic confinement, formation of magnetic surfaces, magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium and stability, single charged particle confinement, neoclassical transport and plasma heating. He also reviews recent experiments and the prospects for the next generation of devices.

1. Introduction
2. Design principles of coil systems in the stellarator and heliotron
3. A description of magnetically confined plasmas
4. The MHD equilibrium of a toroidal plasma in three-dimensional geometry
5. MHD instabilities in heliotrons
6. The particle orbit in heliotrons
7. Neoclassical transport in the stellarator and heliotron
8. The heating and confinement of stellarator and heliotron plasmas
9. The steady-state fusion reactor

Stellarator and Heliotron Devicesprovides an excellent treatment of stellarator theory. It is aimed at graduate students who have a good understanding of classical mechanics and mathematical techniques. It contains good descriptions and derivations of essentially every aspect of fusion theory. The author provides an excellent qualitative introduction to each subject, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of the models that are being used and describing our present understanding. He judiciously uses simple models which illustrate the similarities and differences between stellarators and tokamaks. . . . I have always respected the author for the quality of students he produces. He provides a list of some of them in the preface, which justifies this opinion. These stulC%