Magnetic Confinement Fusion
Tokamaks and stellarators, ITER, compact high-field devices, plasma confinement records and machine-learning plasma control.
Magnetic Confinement Fusion: State of the Field (October 2026)
Tokamaks and stellarators are the main routes to fusion power based on magnetic confinement. This dossier reviews confinement regimes, edge and disruption control, stellarator optimization, plasma-facing materials, machine-learning control and results from long-pulse, high-density and deuterium-tritium experiments through 2025, with 2026 preprints flagged. The central takeaway is that key capabilities have been shown in separate devices, while integrated burning-plasma performance remains a future goal.
Most influential
- Magnetic control of tokamak plasmas through deep reinforcement learning
Abstract Nuclear fusion using magnetic confinement, in particular in the tokamak configuration, is a promising path towards sustainable energy. A core challenge is to shape and maintain a high-temperature plasma within the tokamak vessel. This requires high-dimensional, high-frequency, closed-loop control using magnetic actuator coils, further complicated by…
Abstract excerpt by Jonas Degrave et al., CC-BY, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04301-9; truncated.
Article751 citationsdoi:10.1038/s41586-021-04301-9 - First Observation of Edge Localized Modes Mitigation with Resonant and Nonresonant Magnetic Perturbations in ASDEX UpgradeArticle501 citationsdoi:10.1103/physrevlett.106.225004
- Predicting disruptive instabilities in controlled fusion plasmas through deep learningArticle367 citationsdoi:10.1038/s41586-019-1116-4
- Theory of plasma confinement in non-axisymmetric magnetic fieldsArticle355 citationsdoi:10.1088/0034-4885/77/8/087001
- Challenges for plasma-facing components in nuclear fusion
The interaction processes between the burning plasma and the first wall in a fusion reactor are diverse: the first wall will be exposed to extreme thermal loads of up to several tens of megawatts per square meter during quasistationary operation, combined with repeated intense thermal shocks (with energy densities of up to several megajoules per square meter…
Abstract excerpt by Jochen Max Linke et al., CC-BY, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5090100; truncated.
Article331 citationsdoi:10.1063/1.5090100 - Heuristic drift-based model of the power scrape-off width in low-gas-puff H-mode tokamaksArticle345 citationsdoi:10.1088/0029-5515/52/1/013009
- I-mode: an H-mode energy confinement regime with L-mode particle transport in Alcator C-ModArticle340 citationsdoi:10.1088/0029-5515/50/10/105005
- Mean and Oscillating Plasma Flows and Turbulence Interactions across the L−H Confinement TransitionArticle307 citationsdoi:10.1103/physrevlett.106.065001
- A long-pulse high-confinement plasma regime in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting TokamakArticle292 citationsdoi:10.1038/nphys2795
- Magnetic-confinement fusionArticle282 citationsdoi:10.1038/nphys3745
- Fuel retention studies with the ITER-Like Wall in JETArticle235 citationsdoi:10.1088/0029-5515/53/8/083023
- Achievement of Reactor-Relevant Performance in Negative Triangularity Shape in the DIII-D TokamakArticle190 citationsdoi:10.1103/physrevlett.122.115001
- Demonstration of reduced neoclassical energy transport in Wendelstein 7-X
Abstract Research on magnetic confinement of high-temperature plasmas has the ultimate goal of harnessing nuclear fusion for the production of electricity. Although the tokamak1 is the leading toroidal magnetic-confinement concept, it is not without shortcomings and the fusion community has therefore also pursued alternative concepts such as the stellarator.…
Abstract excerpt by C. D. Beidler et al., CC-BY, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03687-w; truncated.
Article170 citationsdoi:10.1038/s41586-021-03687-w - Thermonuclear ignition in inertial confinement fusion and comparison with magnetic confinementArticle187 citationsdoi:10.1063/1.3380857
- Magnetic configuration effects on the Wendelstein 7-X stellaratorArticle166 citationsdoi:10.1038/s41567-018-0141-9
Newest work
- Magnetic shocks generated by two counterstreaming plasma jets induced by an intense femtosecond laser pulsePreprintarXiv:2610.39808
- Options for heating, fueling, and current drive in MANTA, a high-field negative triangularity fusion pilot plantPreprintarXiv:2610.38899
- Self-organized hybrid scenario mediated by fishbone modes in the EAST tokamakPreprintarXiv:2610.36875
- Generative modeling for fusion: a large-scale benchmark of stellarator fast-ion simulationsPreprintarXiv:2610.37910
- Toward Integrated Microwave Diagnostics for Future Fusion Devices: Design of a Compact Waveguide DiplexerPreprintarXiv:2610.34881
- Drift wave turbulence and transport analysis of hot ion L-mode plasma with fishbone instability on the HL-3 tokamakPreprintarXiv:2610.35072
- Maximization of nuclear fusion reactivity via optimal energy distributionsArticlearXiv:2610.35507doi:10.1103/xhzy-hxdw
- Interaction of Strong X-mode Waves with Magnetized Pair PlasmasPreprintarXiv:2610.35849
- Elasticized magnetohydrostaticsPreprintarXiv:2610.36241
- An In-depth Study of Stochastic Stellarator Coil OptimizationPreprintarXiv:2610.33374