Hot-ion modes in the high-field compact spherical tokamak Globus-M2

AI Insight

Researchers at the Globus-M2 spherical tokamak achieved a regime where ion temperature significantly exceeds electron temperature, reaching ion temperatures up to 1 keV while electron temperatures remained around 0.5 keV. This hot-ion mode was sustained through neutral beam injection heating in a compact, high-magnetic-field configuration. The findings demonstrate that spherical tokamaks can achieve ion heating dominance despite their compact size, which is relevant for fusion energy development.

Why it matters

Hot-ion regimes are crucial for fusion reactions since the fusion rate depends primarily on ion temperature. Achieving this in a compact spherical tokamak design could lead to more cost-effective and space-efficient fusion reactor concepts compared to conventional large-scale tokamaks.