Assistant Professor Adelle Wright published An Introduction to Stellarators: From Magnetic Fields to Symmetries and Optimization late last year. The book, co-authored with her colleagues Lise-Marie Imbert-Gérard and Elizabeth J. Paul, provides the first modern introduction to stellarator theory.
“We would happily be corrected but, as far as we are aware, this is the first multi-author book in fusion plasma physics with all women authors,” says Wright.
A stellarator is a fusion energy device that uses magnetic fields to contain plasma in complex, toroidal shapes, which are optimized to maximize performance. The development of stellarators as a fusion energy technology may provide a viable solution to the world’s growing energy needs. Wright’s research aims to make that possible by developing a predictive understanding of the interactions between charged particles in plasmas and electromagnetic fields.
Wright is co-PI of UW-Madison’s Helically Symmetric eXperiment (HSX), the world’s only quasi-helically symmetric stellarator. This symmetry is a special property of the magnetic field that drastically improves performance, making HSX a crucial facility for stellarator research worldwide.
Intended for mathematicians, physicists, and engineers interested in stellarators, An Introduction to Stellarators provides readers with an accessible introduction to the open questions in stellarator physics, as well as the mathematical foundations and modeling of stellarator design. The book is available at https://doi.org/10.1137/1.9781611978223.
Learn more about the groundbreaking plasma theory and computation and experimental plasma physics research that is going on in the Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics Department.
Wright working with co-authors (L.M. Imbert-Gerard and E. Paul) at the University of Arizona in July 2023.