Plasma Characteristics for a Compact D-T Ignition Experiment

Compact, tight aspect ratio toroidal configurations offer a set of properties favorable for fusion ignition experiments. High magnetic fields support high particle densities, which increase the fusion reaction rate and improve the plasma purity, as well as high plasma currents, which provide strong ohmic heating and keep the plasma beta low to improve stability. Low temperature D-T ignition. T_o ≤ 15 ke V, at relatively low levels of fusion α-particle heating compared to the ohmic heating, P_α/P_OH ≤ 2, then becomes possible, using predominantly ohmic heating. This minimizes the degradation of plasma confinement caused by injected heating and high beta and also reduces the need for complex divertor systems.