Recent Results from LHD Experiment with Emphasis on Relation to Theory from Experimentalist’s View

he Large Helical Device (LHD) has been extending an operational regime of net-current free plasmas towardsthe fusion relevant condition with taking advantage of a net current-free heliotron concept and employing a superconducting coil system. Heating capability has exceeded 10 MW and the central ion and electron temperatureshave reached 7 and 10 keV, respectively. The maximum value of β and pulse length have been extended to 3.2% and 150 s, respectively. Many encouraging physical findings have been obtained. Topics from recent experiments, which should be emphasized from the aspect of theoretical approaches, are reviewed. Those are (1) Prominent features in the inward shifted configuration, i.e., mitigation of an ideal interchange mode in the configuration with magnetic hill, and confinement improvement due to suppression of both anomalous and neoclassical transport, (2) Demonstration ofbifurcation of radial electric field and associated formation of an internal transport barrier, and (3) Dynamics of magnetic islands and clarification of the role of separatrix

Advances in the physics studies for the JT-60SA tokamak exploitation and research plan

International audienceJT-60SA, the largest tokamak that will operate before ITER, has been designed and built jointlyby Japan and Europe, and is due to start operation in 2020. Its main missions are to support ITERexploitation and to contribute to the demonstration fusion reactor machine and scenario design.Peculiar properties of JT-60SA are its capability to produce long-pulse, high-β,and highlyshaped plasmas. The preparation of the JT-60SA Research Plan, plasma scenarios, andexploitation are producing physics results that are not only relevant to future JT-60SAexperiments, but often constitute original contributions to plasma physics and fusion research.Results of this kind are presented in this paper, in particular in the areas of fast ion physics, high-beta plasma properties and control, and non-linear edge localised mode stability studies