WarpX PIC Simulations of the Orbitron Crossed-Field Device

In this poster we report on our ongoing use of WarpX, an exascale Particle-in-Cell code developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, to assess achievable plasma densities, loss mechanisms, and ion and electron confinement characteristics in an "Orbitron" type plasma confinement device. The Orbitron is a crossed-field device that potentially can achieve a useful fusion plasma triple product (confinement time, density, energy) by confining high-energy ions electrostatically for long duration orbits around a cathode, like an Orbitrap, while confining electrons in a weak magnetic field, like a Magnetron. The electrons mitigate ion space-charge density constraints, enabling a high density of ions orbiting with trajectories and energies sufficient for ion-ion fusion. We use WarpX to simulate fully kinetic 3D and RZ azimuthally symmetric models of the Orbitron, which include ion-ion, ion-electron, and electron-electron Coulomb collisions, as well as background neutral collisions. The results of the PIC simulations are compared to a first-order model to assess the plasma power balance physics. We will also report on our first observations of mode activity in single-species (pure electron or pure deuteron) Orbitron plasmas, and the resulting anomalous transport.