Results from deuterium-tritium tokamak confinement experiments

Abstract

Recent scientific and technical progress in magnetic fusion experiments has resulted in the achievement of plasma parameters (density and temperature) which made possible the production of significant bursts of fusion power from deuterium-tritium fuels and the first studies of the physics of burning plasmas. The key scientific issues in studying the reacting plasma core are plasma confinement, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability, and the confinement and loss of energetic fusion products from the reacting fuel ions. Progress in the development of regimes of operation that both have good confinement and are MHD stable has made possible a broad study of problems in burning-plasma physics. The technical and scientific results from deuterium-tritium experiments on the Joint European Torus (JET) and the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) are reviewed, with particular emphasis on alpha-particle physics issues.