An Introduction to Stellarators: From magnetic fields to symmetries and optimization

Abstract

In this self-contained document, we aim to present the basic theoretical building blocks to understand modeling of stellarator magnetic fields, some of the challenges associated with modeling, and optimization for designing stellarators. As often as possible, the ideas will be presented using equations and pictures, and references to other relevant introductory material will be included. This document is accessible to those who may not have a physics background but are interested in applications of mathematical and computational tools to stellarator research.