Energy transport in the good‑curvature region and self‑consistency of pressure‑peak placement in levitated dipole plasmas

Determine the energy transport properties at the plasma edge and in the region of absolute good curvature interior to the pressure peak Ψ0 in levitated dipole plasmas, and establish whether locating the pressure peak Ψ0 at the prompt α‑particle loss limit yields a self‑consistent steady‑state equilibrium.

Background

In levitated dipole reactors, the location of the pressure peak Ψ0 plays a central role in achieving power balance between the good‑ and bad‑curvature regions. The study assumes Ψ0 is set by the prompt α‑particle loss limit on the outboard side of the core magnet, where magnetic fields are weakest.

While transport in the bad‑curvature region has been partially characterized, the authors note that transport at the plasma edge and in the good‑curvature region remains unknown. Verifying that the assumed placement of Ψ0 at the prompt loss limit is self‑consistent requires quantifying energy transport in the good‑curvature region, a task deferred to future levitated‑dipole experiments.

References

The transport in \mathfrak{R}{\rm BC} has been characterized to some extent, however, the transport at the plasma edges and in \mathfrak{R}{\rm GC} is unknown. Determining whether or not defining \Psi_0 in this way would result in a self-consistent equilibrium requires knowledge of the energy transport in \mathfrak{R}_{\rm GC}.

— Deuterium-Tritium Levitated Dipole Fusion Power Plants  (2602.20564 - Simpson et al., 24 Feb 2026) in Subsubsection 'Pressure Peak Location', Section 2.1.2