Prospects for a high-field, compact break-even axisymmetric mirror (BEAM) and applications
C. B. Forest, J. K. Anderson, Douglass Endrizzi, J. Egedal, Samuel J. Frank, Kevin P. Furlong, Mykola Ialovega, Jeremy Kirch, R. W. Harvey, Ben Lindley, Yuri Petrov, J. Pizzo, Tony Qian, Kunal Sanwalka, O. Schmitz, John Wallace, D. V. Yakovlev, M. Y. Yu
Abstract
This paper explores the feasibility of a break-even-class mirror referred to as BEAM (break-even axisymmetric mirror): a neutral-beam-heated simple mirror capable of thermonuclear-grade parameters and $Q\sim 1$ conditions. Compared with earlier mirror experiments in the 1980s, BEAM would have: higher-energy neutral beams, a larger and denser plasma at higher magnetic field, both an edge and a core and capabilities to address both magnetohydrodynamic and kinetic stability of the simple mirror in higher-temperature plasmas. Axisymmetry and high-field magnets make this possible at a modest scale enabling a short development time and lower capital cost. Such a $Q\sim 1$ configuration will be useful as a fusion technology development platform, in which tritium handling, materials and blankets can be tested in a real fusion environment, and as a base for development of higher- $Q$ mirrors.