TEM turbulence optimisation in stellarators

With the advent of neoclassically optimised stellarators, optimising stellarators for turbulent transport is an important next step. The reduction of ion-temperature-gradient-driven turbulence has been achieved via shaping of the magnetic field, and the reduction of trapped-electron mode (TEM) turbulence is adressed in the present paper. Recent analytical and numerical findings suggest TEMs are stabilised when a large fraction of trapped particles experiences favourable bounce-averaged curvature. This is the case for example in Wendelstein 7-X [C.D. Beidler $\textit{et al}$ Fusion Technology $\bf{17}$, 148 (1990)] and other Helias-type stellarators. Using this knowledge, a proxy function was designed to estimate the TEM dynamics, allowing optimal configurations for TEM stability to be determined with the STELLOPT [D.A. Spong $\textit{et al}$ Nucl. Fusion $\bf{41}$, 711 (2001)] code without extensive turbulence simulations. A first proof-of-principle optimised equilibrium stemming from the TEM-dominated stellarator experiment HSX [F.S.B. Anderson $\textit{et al}$, Fusion Technol. $\bf{27}$, 273 (1995)] is presented for which a reduction of the linear growth rates is achieved over a broad range of the operational parameter space. As an important consequence of this property, the turbulent heat flux levels are reduced compared with the initial configuration.

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