Effect of Rotational Transform and Magnetic Shear on Confinement of Stellarators

Abstract

This work surveys the main results concerning the effects of the rotational transform, its low order rational values and its shear on the confining properties of low shear devices. It is meant to promote further studies aimed at clarifying their role in future, reactor grade, devices. 1-D transport studies are encouraged as the effects of rota-tional transform on confinement appear to be of local nature. Low order rational values of the rotational transform are associated with both degraded and improved confinement, being the magnetic shear a plausible cause for the difference. Very small shear values are enough to avoid deletereous effects of the low order rationals in high rotational transform discharges, but further experiments are needed to elucidate whether there is a threshold shear that depends on the rotational transform itself.