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Results of experiments on the formation of a compact toroidal magnetic configuration at the Compact Toroid Challenge setup are presented. The experiments were primarily aimed at studying particular formation stages. Two series of experiments, with and without an auxiliary capacitor bank, were conducted. The magnetic field was measured, its time evolution and spatial distribution over the chamber volume were determined, and its influence on the formation regimes was investigated.

We analyzed the energy balance of a fusion system based on an axially symmetrical open trap. In the considered system, the injection of high-energy (fast) particles is the main source of plasma external heating. Simulation of physical kinetics of the injected particles is based on the numerical solution of the Fokker-Planck equation taking into account scattering into the domain of losses and participation in the fusion reactions. Despite the considerable energy losses of the injected particles when leaving the trap due to the angular scattering, the considered system is sufficiently effective to be used as a source of neutrals for the hybrid (fusion-fission) reactor. The principle possibility of achieving a power amplification of Q pl ≈ 1 in plasma was demonstrated in operation modes with high neutron yield.

As applied to a tokomak, a magnetic trap for confinement of a plasma with an inverted field or a magnetic field reversed configuration (FRC) is one of the most promising alternatives of the systems with high β. A brief review of the latest data on FRC and potential directions of using such configurations in addition to energy generation in thermonuclear reactors (TNRs) is proposed.

The paper is devoted to the principles of magneto-inertial fusion and laser-plasma methods of generation of a Megagauss field during spherical implosion of a magnetized target. A model based on a magnetic confinement system, namely, a cusp configuration with inertial compression of the target by a laser driver, is developed. The dynamics of plasma in a cusp compressed under the effect of laser beams is precalculated. Analytical and numerical estimates of the particle number and magnetic field intensity during magneto-inertial plasma compression are obtained. The problems of irradiation of a spherically closed volume by a high-energy laser pulse are discussed.