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Updated: Sep 5, 2025

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
Existence of weakly quasisymmetric magnetic fields without rotational transform in asymmetric toroidal domains
1Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8561, Japan. sato_naoki@edu.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
Abstract:
A quasisymmetry is a special symmetry that enhances the ability of a magnetic field to trap charged particles. Quasisymmetric magnetic fields may allow the realization of next generation fusion reactors (stellarators) with superior performance when compared with tokamak designs. Nevertheless, the existence of such magnetic configurations lacks mathematical proof due to the complexity of the governing equations. Here, we prove the existence of weakly quasisymmetric magnetic fields by constructing explicit examples. This result is achieved by a tailored parametrization of both magnetic field and hosting toroidal domain, which are optimized to fulfill quasisymmetry. The obtained solutions hold in a toroidal volume, are smooth, possess nested flux surfaces, are not invariant under continuous Euclidean isometries, have a non-vanishing current, exhibit a vanishing rotational transform, and fit within the framework of anisotropic magnetohydrodynamics. Due to the vanishing rotational transform, these solutions are however not suitable for particle confinement.
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