Vår 2025

FYS-8026 Fusion plasma physics - 10 stp

The course is administrated by

Institutt for fysikk og teknologi

Type of course

The course is available as a singular course. Please contact the administration at the Faculty of Science and Technology, att. PhD education.

Programstudents may register for the course through Studentweb. The registration deadline is September 1st/February 1st.

Other PhD students at UiT and external applicants may apply for admission through Søknadsweb, application code 9301. The application deadline is June 1st for the autumn semester and December 1st for the spring semester.

Course overlap

FYS-3026 Fusion plasma physics 8 ects

Course contents

The course content is dynamic and will reflect the interests of the participating students and the ongoing research on fusion plasma physics at the Faculty of Science and Technology. Following a general introduction to the quest for controlled thermonuclear fusion and magnetic confinement, students will obtain in depth knowledge about equilibrium, waves, instabilities, and collisional as well as fluctuation-induced transport in magnetized plasmas using both kinetic and fluid descriptions. Cross-field transport of particles and heat due to collective motions is an issue of major concern for future fusion reactors and is the main research topic at the department. The course includes computer projects where the students will develop simulation codes and analyse experimental data.

Admission requirements

Programstudents may register for the course through Studentweb. The registration deadline is September 1st/February 1st.

PhD students or holders of a Norwegian master´s degree of five years or three + two years (or equivalent) may be admitted. Only students with a background in physics, or another discipline which provides the student with the relevant knowledge, may be admitted. Students are expected to have skills equivalent to the prerequisites listed for the course.

PhD students are exempt from semester fee.

All external applicants have to attach a confirmation of their status as a PhD student from their home institution. Students who hold a Master of Science degree, but are not yet enrolled as a PhD-student have to attach a copy of their master's degree diploma. These students are also required to pay the semester fee.

More information regarding PhD courses at the Faculty of Science and Technology is found here.

The course will only be taught if there is a sufficient number of students.

Objective of the course

Knowledge - The student will be able to:

describe the principles of fusion processes, energy confinement, power balance, and the basic design of a fusion power reactor
give an in depth explations on the principles of magnetic confinement of plasmas, in particular the Tokamak and Stellarator concepts
describe equilibrium and stability of magnetically confined plasmas
identify causes of particle and heat transport in magnetically confined plasmas
describe the power and particle exhaust and the role of plasma-wall interactions

Skills - The student will be able to:

obtain and interpret relevant new theories about magnetic confinement, heating, stability and transport
analyze and interpret data from experimental measurements and numerical simulations
solve problems in fluid and plasma dynamics using analytical and numerical methods

General expertise - The student will be able to:

incorporate current events and new scientific information into a critical thinking
communicate theories, problem descriptions and solutions

Language of instruction

The language of instruction is English and all of the syllabus material is in English. Examination questions will be given in English, but may be answered either in English or a Scandinavian language.

Teaching methods

Lectures: 40 hours

Exercises: 24 hours