ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Feb 2026
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
January 2026
Latest News
Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
S. Masuzaki, T. Morisaki, M. Shoji, Y. Kubota, T. Watanabe, M. Kobayashi, J. Miyazawa, M. Goto, S. Morita, B. J. Peterson, N. Ohyabu, A. Komori, O. Motojima, LHD Experimental Group, H. Ogawa
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 50 | Number 3 | October 2006 | Pages 361-371
Technical Paper | Stellarators | doi.org/10.13182/FST06-A1257
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
One of the characteristics of the heliotron-type magnetic configuration is that it has an intrinsic divertor structure (helical divertor). Particle control using a helical divertor configuration, to achieve improved confinement and sustainment of steady-state high-performance plasmas, is a major experimental goal in the Large Helical Device (LHD), the largest heliotron-type superconducting device, and it needs to be demonstrated on the route to the design of the heliotron-type fusion reactor. The LHD scrape-off layer (SOL) in the intrinsic helical divertor configuration has a unique magnetic field line structure consisting of stochastic regions, residual islands, whisker structures, and laminar layers contrasting with the "onion-skin"-like magnetic field line structure in poloidal divertor tokamak SOLs. Since the first experimental campaign in LHD in 1998, studies aiming at understanding the edge plasma properties in the "open" helical divertor configurations have been conducted experimentally and theoretically. In this paper, the helical divertor studies in the LHD are reviewed, and the future experimental plan is shown.