journal article·2025-09-05Open access

Demonstration of Super-X divertor exhaust control for transient heat load management in compact fusion reactors

B. Kool, K. Verhaegh, G. L. Derks, T. A. Wijkamp, J. T. W. Koenders, N. Lonigro, G. McArdle, C. Vincent, J. Lovell, S. S. Henderson, F. Federici, D. Brida, H. Reimerdes, N. Osborne, M. van Berkel, The EUROfusion Tokamak Exploitation Team, D. Abate, J. Adamek, M. Agostini, C. Albert, F. C. P. Albert Devasagayam, S. Aleiferis, E. Alessi, J. Alhage, S. Allan, J. Allcock, M. Alonzo, G. Anastasiou, E. Andersson Sunden, C. Angioni, Y. Anquetin, L. Appel, G. M. Apruzzese, M. Ariola, C. Arnas, J. F. Artaud, W. Arter, O. Asztalos, L. Aucone, M. H. Aumeunier, F. Auriemma, J. Ayllon, E. Aymerich, A. Baciero, F. Bagnato, L. Bähner, F. Bairaktaris, P. Balázs, L. Balbinot, I. Balboa, M. Balden, A. Balestri, M. Baquero Ruiz, T. Barberis, C. Barcellona, O. Bardsley, M. Baruzzo, S. Benkadda, T. Bensadon, E. Bernard, M. Bernert, H. Betar, R. Bianchetti Morales, J. Bielecki, R. Bilato, P. Bilkova, W. Bin, G. Birkenmeier, R. Bisson, P. Blanchard, A. Bleasdale, V. Bobkov, A. Boboc, A. Bock, K. Bogar, P. Bohm, T. Bolzonella, F. Bombarda, N. Bonanomi, L. Boncagni, D. Bonfiglio, R. Bonifetto, M. Bonotto, D. Borodin, I. Borodkina, T. O. S. J. Bosman, C. Bourdelle, C. Bowman, S. Brezinsek, D. Brida, F. Brochard, R. Brunet, D. Brunetti, V. Bruno, R. Buchholz, J. Buermans, H. Bufferand, P. Buratti, A. Burckhart, J. Cai, R. Calado, J. Caloud, S. Cancelli, F. Cani, B. Cannas, M. Cappelli, S. Carcangiu, A. Cardinali, S. Carli, D. Carnevale, M. Carole, M. Carpita, D. Carralero, F. Caruggi, I. S. Carvalho, I. Casiraghi, A. Casolari, F. J. Casson, C. Castaldo, A. Cathey, F. Causa, J. Cavalier, M. Cavedon, J. Cazabonne, M. Cecconello, L. Ceelen, A. Celora, J. Cerovsky, C. D. Challis, R. Chandra, A. Chankin, B. Chapman, H. Chen, M. Chernyshova, A. G. Chiariello, P. Chmielewski, A. Chomiczewska, C. Cianfarani, G. Ciraolo, J. Citrin, F. Clairet, S. Coda, R. Coelho, J. W. Coenen, I. H. Coffey, C. Colandrea, L. Colas, S. Conroy, C. Contre, N. J. Conway, L. Cordaro, Y. Corre, D. Costa, S. Costea, D. Coster, X. Courtois, C. Cowley, T. Craciunescu, G. Croci, A. M. Croitoru, K. Crombe, D. J. Cruz Zabala, G. Cseh, T. Czarski, A. Da Ros, A. Dal Molin, M. Dalla Rosa, Y. Damizia, O. D’Arcangelo, P. David, M. De Angeli, E. De la Cal, E. De La Luna, G. De Tommasi, J. Decker, R. Dejarnac, D. Del Sarto, G. Derks, C. Desgranges, P. Devynck, S. Di Genova, L. E. di Grazia, A. Di Siena, M. Dicorato, M. Diez, M. Dimitrova, T. Dittmar, L. Dittrich, J. J. Domínguez Palacios Durán, P. Donnel, D. Douai, S. Dowson, S. Doyle, M. Dreval, P. Drews, L. Dubus, R. Dumont, D. Dunai, M. Dunne, A. Durif, F. Durodie, G. Durr Legoupil Nicoud, B. Duval, R. Dux, T. Eich, A. Ekedahl, S. Elmore, G. Ericsson, J. Eriksson, B. Eriksson, F. Eriksson, S. Ertmer, A. Escarguel, B. Esposito, T. Estrada, E. Fable, M. Faitsch, N. Fakhrayi Mofrad, A. Fanni, T. Farley, M. Farník, N. Fedorczak, F. Felici, X. Feng, J. Ferreira, D. Ferreira, N. Ferron, O. Fevrier, O. Ficker, A. R. Field, A. Figueiredo, N. Fil, D. Fiorucci, M. Firdaouss, R. Fischer, M. Fitzgerald, M. Flebbe, M. Fontana, J. Fontdecaba Climent, A. Frank, E. Fransson, L. Frassinetti, D. Frigione, S. Futatani, R. Futtersack, S. Gabriellini, D. Gadariya, D. Galassi, K. Galazka, J. Galdon, S. Galeani, D. Gallart, A. Gallo, C. Galperti, M. Gambrioli, S. Garavaglia, J. Garcia, M. Garcia Munoz, J. Gardarein, L. Garzotti, J. Gaspar, R. Gatto, P. Gaudio, M. Gelfusa, J. Gerardin, S. N. Gerasimov, R. Gerru Miguelanez, G. Gervasini, Z. Ghani, F. M. Ghezzi, G. Ghillardi, L. Giannone, S. Gibson, L. Gil, A. Gillgren, E. Giovannozzi, C. Giroud, G. Giruzzi, T. Gleiter, M. Gobbin, V. Goloborodko, A. González Ganzábal, T. Goodman, V. Gopakumar, G. Gorini, T. Görler, S. Gorno, G. Granucci, D. Greenhouse, G. Grenfell, M. Griener, W. Gromelski, M. Groth, O. Grover, M. Gruca, A. Gude, C. Guillemaut, R. Guirlet, J. Gunn, T. Gyergyek, L. Hagg, A. Hakola, J. Hall, C. J. Ham, M. Hamed, T. Happel, G. Harrer, J. Harrison, D. Harting, N. C. Hawkes, P. Heinrich, S. Henderson, P. Hennequin, R. Henriques, S. Heuraux, J. Hidalgo Salaverri, J. Hillairet, J. C. Hillesheim, A. Hjalmarsson, A. Ho, J. Hobirk, E. Hodille, M. Hölzl, M. Hoppe, J. Horacek, N. Horsten, L. Horvath, M. Houry, K. Hromasova, J. Huang, Z. Huang, A. Huber, E. Huett, P. Huynh, A. Iantchenko, M. Imrisek, P. Innocente, C. Ionita Schrittwieser, H. Isliker, P. Ivanova, I. Ivanova Stanik, M. Jablczynska, S. Jachmich, A. S. Jacobsen, P. Jacquet, A. Jansen van Vuuren, A. Jardin, H. Järleblad, A. Järvinen, F. Jaulmes, T. Jensen, I. Jepu, S. Jessica, E. Joffrin, T. Johnson, A. Juven, J. Kalis, A. Kappatou, J. Karhunen, R. Karimov, A. N. Karpushov, S. Kasilov, Y. Kazakov, P. V. Kazantzidis, D. Keeling, W. Kernbichler, H. T. Kim, D. B. King, V. G. Kiptily, A. Kirjasuo, K. K. Kirov, A. Kirschner, A. Kit, T. Kiviniemi, F. Kjær, E. Klinkby, A. Knieps, U. Knoche, M. Kochan, F. Köchl, G. Kocsis, J. T. W. Koenders, L. Kogan, Y. Kolesnichenko, Y. Kominis, M. Komm, M. Kong, B. Kool, S. B. Korsholm, D. Kos, M. Koubiti, J. Kovacic, Y. Kovtun, E. Kowalska Strzeciwilk, K. Koziol, M. Kozulia, A. Krämer Flecken, A. Kreter, K. Krieger, U. Kruezi, O. Krutkin, O. Kudlacek, U. Kumar, H. Kumpulainen, M. H. Kushoro, R. Kwiatkowski, M. La Matina, B. Labit, M. Lacquaniti, L. Laguardia, P. Lainer, P. Lang, M. Larsen, E. Laszynska, K. D. Lawson, A. Lazaros, E. Lazzaro, M. Y. K. Lee, S. Leerink, M. Lehnen, M. Lennholm, E. Lerche, Y. Liang, A. Lier, J. Likonen, O. Linder, B. Lipschultz, A. Listopad, X. Litaudon, E. Litherland Smith, D. Liuzza, T. Loarer, P. J. Lomas, J. Lombardo, N. Lonigro, R. Lorenzini, C. Lowry, T. Luda di Cortemiglia, A. Ludvig Osipov, T. Lunt, V. Lutsenko, E. Macusova, R. Mäenpää, P. Maget, C. F. Maggi, J. Mailloux, S. Makarov, K. Malinowski, P. Manas, A. Mancini, D. Mancini, P. Mantica, M. Mantsinen, J. Manyer, M. Maraschek, G. Marceca, G. Marcer, C. Marchetto, S. Marchioni, A. Mariani, M. Marin, M. Markl, T. Markovic, D. Marocco, S. Marsden, L. Martellucci, P. Martin, C. Martin, F. Martinelli, L. Martinelli, J. R. Martin Solis, R. Martone, M. Maslov, R. Masocco, M. Mattei, G. F. Matthews, D. Matveev, E. Matveeva, M. L. Mayoral, D. Mazon, S. Mazzi, C. Mazzotta, G. McArdle, R. McDermott, K. McKay, A. G. Meigs, C. Meineri, A. Mele, V. Menkovski, S. Menmuir, A. Merle, H. Meyer, K. Mikszuta Michalik, D. Milanesio, F. Militello, A. Milocco, I. G. Miron, J. Mitchell, R. Mitteau, V. Mitterauer, J. Mlynar, V. Moiseenko, P. Molna, F. Mombelli, C. Monti, A. Montisci, J. Morales, P. Moreau, J. M. Moret, A. Moro, D. Moulton, P. Mulholland, M. Muraglia, A. Murari, A. Muraro, P. Muscente, D. Mykytchuk, F. Nabais, Y. Nakeva, F. Napoli, E. Nardon, M. F. Nave, R. D. Nem, A. Nielsen, S. K. Nielsen, M. Nocente, R. Nouailletas, S. Nowak, H. Nyström, R. Ochoukov, N. Offeddu, S. Olasz, C. Olde, F. Oliva, D. Oliveira, H. J. C. Oliver, P. Ollus, J. Ongena, F. P. Orsitto, N. Osborne, R. Otin, P. Oyola Dominguez, D. I. Palade, S. Palomba, O. Pan, N. Panadero, E. Panontin, A. Papadopoulos, P. Papagiannis, G. Papp, V. V. Parail, C. Pardanaud, J. Parisi, A. Parrott, K. Paschalidis, M. Passoni, F. Pastore, A. Patel, B. Patel, A. Pau, G. Pautasso, R. Pavlichenko, E. Pawelec, B. Pegourie, G. Pelka, E. Peluso, A. Perek, E. Perelli Cippo, C. Perez Von Thun, P. Petersson, G. Petravich, Y. Peysson, V. Piergotti, L. Pigatto, C. Piron, L. Piron, A. Pironti, F. Pisano, U. Plank, B. Ploeckl, V. Plyusnin, A. Podolnik, Y. Poels, G. Pokol, J. Poley, G. Por, M. Poradzinski, F. Porcelli, L. Porte, C. Possieri, A. Poulsen, I. Predebon, G. Pucella, M. Pueschel, P. Puglia, O. Putignano, T. Pütterich, V. Quadri, A. Quercia, M. Rabinski, L. Radovanovic, R. Ragona, H. Raj, M. Rasinski, J. Rasmussen, G. Ratta, S. Ratynskaia, R. Rayaprolu, M. Rebai, A. Redl, D. Rees, D. Refy, M. Reich, B. C. G. Reman, O. Renders, C. Reux, D. Ricci, M. Richou, S. Rienacker, D. Rigamonti, F. Rigollet, F. G. Rimini, D. Ripamonti, N. Rispoli, N. Rivals, J. F. Rivero Rodriguez, C. Roach, G. Rocchi, S. Rode, P. Rodrigues, J. Romazanov, C. F. Romero Madrid, J. Rosato, R. Rossi, G. Rubino, J. Rueda Rueda, J. Ruiz Ruiz, P. Ryan, D. Ryan, S. Saarelma, R. Sabot, M. Salewski, A. Salmi, L. Sanchis, A. Sand, J. Santos, K. Särkimäki, M. Sassano, O. Sauter, G. Schettini, S. Schmuck, P. Schneider, N. Schoonheere, R. Schramm, R. Schrittwieser, C. Schuster, N. Schwarz, F. Sciortino, M. Scotto D’Abusco, S. Scully, A. Selce, L. Senni, M. Senstius, G. Sergienko, S. E. Sharapov, R. Sharma, A. Shaw, U. Sheikh, G. Sias, B. Sieglin, S. A. Silburn, C. Silva, A. Silva, D. Silvagni, B. Simmendefeldt Schmidt, L. Simons, J. Simpson, L. Singh, S. Sipilä, Y. Siusko, S. Smith, A. Snicker, E. R. Solano, V. Solokha, M. Sos, C. Sozzi, F. Spineanu, G. Spizzo, M. Spolaore, L. Spolladore, C. Srinivasan, A. Stagni, Z. Stancar, G. Stankunas, J. Stober, P. Strand, C. I. Stuart, F. Subba, G. Y. Sun, H. J. Sun, W. Suttrop, J. Svoboda, T. Szepesi, G. Szepesi, B. Tal, T. Tala, P. Tamain, G. Tardini, M. Tardocchi, D. Taylor, G. Telesca, A. Tenaglia, A. Terra, D. Terranova, D. Testa, C. Theiler, E. Tholerus, B. Thomas, E. Thoren, A. Thornton, A. Thrysoe, Q. Tichit, W. Tierens, A. Titarenko, P. Tolias, E. Tomasina, M. Tomes, E. Tonello, A. Tookey, M. Toscano Jiménez, C. Tsironis, E. Tsitrone, C. Tsui, A. Tykhyy, M. Ugoletti, M. Usoltseva, D. F. Valcarcel, A. Valentini, M. Valisa, M. Vallar, M. Valovic, S. I. Valvis, M. van Berkel, D. Van Eester, S. Van Mulders, M. van Rossem, R. Vann, B. Vanovac, J. Varela Rodriguez, J. Varje, S. Vartanian, M. Vecsei, L. Velarde Gallardo, M. Veranda, T. Verdier, G. Verdoolaege, K. Verhaegh, L. Vermare, G. Verona Rinati, N. Vianello, J. Vicente, E. Viezzer, L. Vignitchouk, F. Villone, B. Vincent, P. Vincenzi, M. O. Vlad, G. Vogel, I. Voitsekhovitch, I. Voldiner, P. Vondracek, N. M. T. Vu, T. Vuoriheimo, C. Wade, E. Wang, T. Wauters, M. Weiland, H. Weisen, N. Wendler, D. Weston, A. Widdowson, S. Wiesen, M. Wiesenberger, T. Wijkamp, M. Willensdorfer, T. Wilson, M. Wischmeier, A. Wojenski, C. Wuethrich, I. Wyss, L. Xiang, S. Xu, D. Yadykin, Y. Yakovenko, H. Yang, V. Yanovskiy, R. Yi, B. Zaar, G. Zadvitskiy, L. Zakharov, P. Zanca, D. Zarzoso, Y. Zayachuk, J. Zebrowski, M. Zerbini, P. Zestanakis, C. F. B. Zimmermann, M. Zlobinski, A. Zohar, V. K. Zotta, X. Zou, M. Zuin, M. Zurita, I. Zychor, the MAST-U team, J. R. Harrison, A. Aboutaleb, S. Ahmed, M. Aljunid, S. Y. Allan, H. Anand, Y. Andrew, L. C. Appel, A. Ash, J. Ashton, O. Bachmann, M. Barnes, B. Barrett, D. Baver, D. Beckett, J. Bennett, J. Berkery, M. Bernert, W. Boeglin, J. Bradley, P. K. Browning, P. Bryant, J. Bryant, J. Buchanan, N. Bulmer, A. Carruthers, M. Cecconello, Z. P. Chen, J. Clark, C. Cowley, M. Coy, N. Crocker, G. Cunningham, I. Cziegler, T. Da Assuncao, Y. Damizia, P. Davies, I. E. Day, G. L. Derks, S. Dixon, R. Doyle, M. Dreval, M. Dunne, B. P. Duval, T. Eagles, J. Edmond, H. El-Haroun, S. D. Elmore, Y. Enters, M. Faitsch, F. Federici, N. Fedorczak, F. Felici, I. Fitzgerald, R. Fitzpatrick, L. Frassinetti, W. Fuller, D. Gahle, J. Galdon-Quiroga, S. Gee, T. Gheorghiu, K. J. Gibson, D. Greenhouse, V. H. Hall-Chen, R. Harrison, S. S. Henderson, C. Hickling, B. Hnat, L. Howlett, J. Hughes, R. Hussain, K. Imada, P. Jepson, B. Kandan, I. Katramados, Y. O. Kazakov, D. King, R. King, A. Kirk, M. Knolker, M. Kochan, B. Kool, M. Kotschenreuther, M. Lees, A. W. Leonard, G. Liddiard, B. Lipschultz, Y. Q. Liu, B. A. Lomanowski, N. Lonigro, J. Lore, J. Lovell, S. Mahajan, F. Maiden, C. Man-Friel, F. Mansfield, R. Martin, S. Mazzi, R. McAdams, K. G. McClements, J. McClenaghan, D. McConville, K. McKay, C. McKnight, P. McKnight, A. McLean, B. F. McMillan, A. McShee, J. Measures, N. Mehay, C. A. Michael, D. Morbey, S. Mordijck, O. Myatra, A. O. Nelson, M. Nicassio, M. G. O’Mullane, P. Ollus, T. Osborne, N. Osborne, E. Parr, B. Parry, B. S. Patel, D. Payne, C. Paz-Soldan, A. Phelps, L. Piron, C. Piron, G. Prechel, M. Price, B. Pritchard, R. Proudfoot, H. Reimerdes, T. Rhodes, P. Richardson, J. Riquezes, J. F. Rivero-Rodriguez, C. M. Roach, M. Robson, K. Ronald, E. Rose, S. Sabbagh, R. Sarwar, P. Saunders, O. Sauter, R. Scannell, T. Schuett, R. Seath, P. Shi, B. Sieglin, M. Simmonds, J. Smith, A. Smith, V. A. Soukhanovskii, D. Speirs, G. Staebler, R. Stephen, P. Stevenson, J. Stobbs, M. Stott, C. Stroud, C. Tame, C. Theiler, N. Thomas-Davies, A. J. Thornton, M. Tobin, M. Vallar, R. G. L. Vann, L. Velarde, E. Viezzer, C. Vincent, G. Voss, M. Warr, W. Wehner, S. Wiesen, T. A. Wijkamp, D. Wilkins, T. Williams, H. R. Wilson, H. Wong, M. Wood, V. Zamkovska

Nature Energy· Volume 10· Issue 9

Abstract

Abstract Nuclear fusion could offer clean, abundant energy. However, managing the power exhausted from the core fusion plasma towards the reactor wall remains a major challenge. This is compounded in emerging compact reactor designs promising more cost-effective pathways towards commercial fusion energy. Alternative Divertor Configurations (ADCs) are a potential solution. In this work, we demonstrate exhaust control in ADCs, employing a novel method to diagnose the neutral gas buffer, which shields the target. Our work on the Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak Upgrade shows that ADCs tackle key risks and uncertainties for fusion energy. Their highly reduced sensitivity to perturbations enables active exhaust control in otherwise unfeasible situations and facilitates an increased passive absorption of transients, which would otherwise damage the divertor. We observe a strong decoupling of each divertor from other reactor regions, enabling near-independent control of the divertors and core plasma. Our work showcases the real-world benefits of ADCs for effective heat load management in fusion power reactors.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Magnetic confinement fusion research · Fusion materials and technologies · Nuclear reactor physics and engineering

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

References (68)

Show source-provided references
1. Cowley, S. C. The quest for fusion power. Nat. Phys. 12, 384–386 (2016).10.1038/nphys3719 ↗
2. Wesson, J. Tokamaks (Oxford Univ. Press, 2004).
3. Pitts, R. A. et al. Physics basis for the first ITER tungsten divertor. Nucl. Mater. Energy 20, 100696 (2019).10.1016/j.nme.2019.100696 ↗
4. Zohm, H. et al. The EU strategy for solving the DEMO exhaust problem. Fusion Eng. Des. 166, 112307 (2021).10.1016/j.fusengdes.2021.112307 ↗
5. Sorbom, B. et al. ARC: a compact, high-field, fusion nuclear science facility and demonstration power plant with demountable magnets. Fusion Eng. Des. 100, 378–405 (2015).10.1016/j.fusengdes.2015.07.008 ↗
6. Creely, A. J. et al. Overview of the SPARC tokamak. J. Plasma Phys. 86, 865860502 (2020).10.1017/S0022377820001257 ↗
7. Baker, A. The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) in context: UK public sector approach to fusion energy. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. A 382, 20230401 (2024).10.1098/rsta.2023.0401 ↗
8. Lennholm, M. et al. Controlling a new plasma regime. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. A 382, 20230403 (2024).10.1098/rsta.2023.0403 ↗
9. Henderson, S. et al. An overview of the STEP divertor design and the simple models driving the plasma exhaust scenario. Nucl. Fusion 65, 016033 (2025).10.1088/1741-4326/ad93e7 ↗
10. Osawa, R. et al. SOLPS-ITER analysis of a proposed STEP double null geometry: impact of the degree of disconnection on power-sharing. Nucl. Fusion 63, 076032 (2023).10.1088/1741-4326/acd863 ↗
11. Peng, Y.-K. M. et al. Spherical torus - an approach to compact fusion at low field: initial ignition assessments. Fusion Technol. 8, 338 (1985).10.13182/FST85-A40067 ↗
12. Hudoba, A., Newton, S., Voss, G., Cunningham, G. & Henderson, S. Divertor optimisation and power handling in spherical tokamak reactors. Nucl. Mater. Energy 35, 101410 (2023).10.1016/j.nme.2023.101410 ↗
13. Kuang, A. Q. et al. Divertor heat flux challenge and mitigation in SPARC. J. Plasma Phys. 86, 865860505 (2020).10.1017/S0022377820001117 ↗
14. Verhaegh, K. et al. The role of plasma–atom and molecule interactions on power & particle balance during detachment on the MAST upgrade Super-X divertor. Nucl. Fusion 63, 126023 (2023).10.1088/1741-4326/acf946 ↗
15. Verhaegh, K. et al. Investigations of atomic and molecular processes of NBI-heated discharges in the MAST upgrade Super-X divertor with implications for reactors. Nucl. Fusion 64, 086050 (2024).10.1088/1741-4326/ad5851 ↗
16. Verhaegh, K. et al. Divertor shaping with neutral baffling as a solution to the tokamak power exhaust challenge. Commun. Phys. 8, 215 (2025).10.1038/s42005-025-02121-1 ↗
17. Theiler, C. et al. Results from recent detachment experiments in alternative divertor configurations on TCV. Nucl. Fusion 57, 072008 (2017).10.1088/1741-4326/aa5fb7 ↗
18. Loarte, A. & Neu, R. Power exhaust in tokamaks and scenario integration issues. Fusion Eng. Design 122, 256–273 (2017).10.1016/j.fusengdes.2017.06.024 ↗
19. Ravensbergen, T. et al. Real-time feedback control of the impurity emission front in tokamak divertor plasmas. Nat. Commun. 12, 1105 (2021).10.1038/s41467-021-21268-3 ↗
20. Wiesen, S. et al. Control of particle and power exhaust in pellet fuelled ITER DT scenarios employing integrated models. Nucl. Fusion 57, 076020 (2017).10.1088/1741-4326/aa6ecc ↗
21. De Temmerman, G., Kirk, A., Nardon, E., Tamain, P. & The MAST Team. Heat load asymmetries in MAST. J. Nucl. Mater. 415, S383–S386 (2011).10.1016/j.jnucmat.2010.10.003 ↗
22. Morgan, T., Li, Y., Balden, M., Brezinsek, S. & De Temmerman, G. Combined high fluence and high cycle number transient loading of ITER-like monoblocks in Magnum-PSI. Nucl. Fusion 61, 116045 (2021).10.1088/1741-4326/ac25c2 ↗
23. Lipschultz, B., Parra, F. I. & Hutchinson, I. H. Sensitivity of detachment extent to magnetic configuration and external parameters. Nucl. Fusion 56, 056007 (2016).10.1088/0029-5515/56/5/056007 ↗
24. Biel, W. et al. Development of a concept and basis for the DEMO diagnostic and control system. Fusion Eng. Design 179, 113122 (2022).10.1016/j.fusengdes.2022.113122 ↗
25. Koenders, J. et al. Model-based impurity emission front control using deuterium fueling and nitrogen seeding in TCV. Nucl. Fusion 63, 026006 (2023).10.1088/1741-4326/aca620 ↗
26. Kallenbach, A. et al. Partial detachment of high power discharges in ASDEX Upgrade. Nucl. Fusion 55, 053026 (2015).10.1088/0029-5515/55/5/053026 ↗
27. Eldon, D. et al. Advances in radiated power control at DIII-D. Nucl. Mater. Energy 18, 285–290 (2019).10.1016/j.nme.2019.01.010 ↗
28. Bernert, M. et al. X-point radiation, its control and an ELM suppressed radiating regime at the ASDEX upgrade tokamak. Nucl. Fusion 61, 024001 (2021).10.1088/1741-4326/abc936 ↗
29. Xu, G. S. et al. Divertor impurity seeding with a new feedback control scheme for maintaining good core confinement in grassy-ELM H-mode regime with tungsten monoblock divertor in EAST. Nucl. Fusion 60, 086001 (2020).10.1088/1741-4326/ab91fa ↗
30. Brunner, D. et al. Feedback system for divertor impurity seeding based on real-time measurements of surface heat flux in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 87, 023504 (2016).10.1063/1.4941047 ↗
31. Kolemen, E. et al. Heat flux management via advanced magnetic divertor configurations and divertor detachment. J. Nucl. Mater. 463, 1186–1190 (2015).10.1016/j.jnucmat.2014.11.099 ↗
32. Guillemaut, C. et al. Real-time control of divertor detachment in H-mode with impurity seeding using Langmuir probe feedback in JET-ITER-like wall. Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 59, 045001 (2017).10.1088/1361-6587/aa5951 ↗
33. Kallenbach, A. et al. Optimized tokamak power exhaust with double radiative feedback in ASDEX upgrade. Nucl. Fusion 52, 122003 (2012).10.1088/0029-5515/52/12/122003 ↗
34. Reimerdes, H. et al. Assessment of alternative divertor configurations as an exhaust solution for DEMO. Nucl. Fusion 60, 066030 (2020).10.1088/1741-4326/ab8a6a ↗
35. van Eden, G. G., Kvon, V., van de Sanden, M. C. M. & Morgan, T. W. Oscillatory vapour shielding of liquid metal walls in nuclear fusion devices. Nat. Commun. 8, 192 (2017).10.1038/s41467-017-00288-y ↗
36. Bernert, M. et al. The X-Point radiating regime at ASDEX Upgrade and TCV. Nucl. Mater. Energy 34, 101376 (2023).10.1016/j.nme.2023.101376 ↗
37. Militello, F. et al. Preliminary analysis of alternative divertors for DEMO. Nucl. Mater. Energy 26, 100908 (2021).10.1016/j.nme.2021.100908 ↗
38. Havlíčková, E. et al. SOLPS analysis of the MAST-U divertor with the effect of heating power and pumping on the access to detachment in the Super-x configuration. Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 57, 115001 (2015).10.1088/0741-3335/57/11/115001 ↗
39. Moulton, D. et al. Super-X and conventional divertor configurations in MAST-U ohmic L-mode; a comparison facilitated by interpretative modelling. Nucl. Fusion 64, 076049 (2024).10.1088/1741-4326/ad4f9c ↗
40. Morris, W. et al. MAST upgrade divertor facility: a test bed for novel divertor solutions. IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 46, 1217–1226 (2018).10.1109/TPS.2018.2815283 ↗
41. Fishpool, G. et al. MAST-upgrade divertor facility and assessing performance of long-legged divertors. J. Nucl. Mater. 438, S356–S359 (2013).10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.01.067 ↗
42. Reimerdes, H. et al. Initial TCV operation with a baffled divertor. Nucl. Fusion 61, 024002 (2021).10.1088/1741-4326/abd196 ↗
43. Wigram, M. et al. Performance assessment of long-legged tightly-baffled divertor geometries in the ARC reactor concept. Nucl. Fusion 59, 106052 (2019).10.1088/1741-4326/ab394f ↗
44. Feng, X. et al. Development of an 11-channel multi wavelength imaging diagnostic for divertor plasmas in MAST upgrade. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 92, 063510 (2021).10.1063/5.0043533 ↗
45. Wijkamp, T. et al. Characterisation of detachment in the MAST-U Super-X divertor using multi-wavelength imaging of 2D atomic and molecular emission processes. Nucl. Fusion 63, 056003 (2023).10.1088/1741-4326/acc191 ↗
46. Derks, G. et al. Development of real-time density feedback control on MAST-U in L-mode. Fusion Eng. Des. 202, 114387 (2024).10.1016/j.fusengdes.2024.114387 ↗
47. Van Berkel, M. et al. Correcting for non-periodic behaviour in perturbative experiments: application to heat pulse propagation and modulated gas-puff experiments. Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 62, 094001 (2020).10.1088/1361-6587/ab9eaa ↗
48. Lipschultz, B. et al. Marfe: an edge plasma phenomenon. Nucl. Fusion 24, 977–988 (1984).10.1088/0029-5515/24/8/002 ↗
49. Schoukens, J., Vandersteen, G., Barbé, K. & Pintelon, R. Nonparametric preprocessing in system identification: a powerful tool. Eur. J. Control 15, 260–274 (2009).10.3166/ejc.15.260-274 ↗
50. Skogestad, S. & Postlethwaite, I. Multivariable Feedback Control: Analysis and Design (John Wiley; Sons, 2005).
51. Ravensbergen, T. et al. Development of a real-time algorithm for detection of the divertor detachment radiation front using multi-spectral imaging. Nucl. Fusion 60, 066017 (2020).10.1088/1741-4326/ab8183 ↗
52. Hommen, G. Optical Boundary Reconstruction for Shape Control of Tokamak Plasmas. PhD thesis, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (2014); https://pure.tue.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/4029763/780045.pdf
53. Février, O. et al. Detachment in conventional and advanced double-null plasmas in TCV. Nucl. Fusion 61, 116064 (2021).10.1088/1741-4326/ac27c6 ↗
54. Perek, A. et al. A spectroscopic inference and SOLPS-ITER comparison of flux-resolved edge plasma parameters in detachment experiments on TCV. Nucl. Fusion 62, 096012 (2022).10.1088/1741-4326/ac7813 ↗
55. Luís, R. et al. Nuclear analysis of the DEMO divertor survey visible high-resolution spectrometer. Fusion Eng. Des. 169, 112460 (2021).10.1016/j.fusengdes.2021.112460 ↗
56. Valanju, P. M., Kotschenreuther, M., Mahajan, S. M. & Canik, J. Super-X divertors and high power density fusion devices. Phys. Plasmas 16, 056110 (2009).10.1063/1.3110984 ↗
57. Labit, B. et al. Experimental studies of the snowflake divertor in TCV. Nucl. Mater. Energy 12, 1015–1019 (2017).10.1016/j.nme.2017.03.013 ↗
58. McArdle, G., Pangione, L. & Kochan, M. The MAST upgrade plasma control system. Fusion Eng. Des. 159, 111764 (2020).10.1016/j.fusengdes.2020.111764 ↗
59. Liseli, J. B., Agnus, J., Lutz, P. & Rakotondrabe, M. An overview of piezoelectric self-sensing actuation for nanopositioning applications: electrical circuits, displacement, and force estimation. IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas. 69, 2–14 (2020).10.1109/TIM.2019.2950760 ↗
60. Osborne, N. et al. Initial Fulcher band observations from high resolution spectroscopy in the MAST-U divertor. Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 66, 025008 (2024).10.1088/1361-6587/ad1654 ↗
61. Perek, A. et al. MANTIS: a real-time quantitative multispectral imaging system for fusion plasmas. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 90, 123514 (2019).10.1063/1.5115569 ↗
62. Van Leeuwen, L. et al. Machine learning enhanced tomographic reconstruction for multispectral imaging on TCV. Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 67, 025024 (2025).10.1088/1361-6587/ada856 ↗
63. Silburn, S. et al. CALCAM software package (version 2.5.0). Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3956834 (2020).10.5281/zenodo.3956834 ↗
64. Koenders, J. et al. Systematic extraction of a control-oriented model from perturbative experiments and SOLPS-ITER for emission front control in TCV. Nucl. Fusion 62, 066025 (2022).10.1088/1741-4326/ac5b8c ↗
65. Berkel, M. V. et al. A Model Predictive Control Strategy for the Exhaust (ITPA DivSOL, 2023).
66. Kool, B. bob-kool/ADC_control: Final. Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15309011 (2024).10.5281/zenodo.15309011 ↗
67. Federici, F. et al. Design and implementation of a prototype infrared video bolometer (IRVB) in MAST upgrade. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 94, 033502 (2023).10.1063/5.0128768 ↗
68. Federici, F. et al. Evolution of radiation profiles in a strongly baffled divertor on MAST Upgrade. Nucl. Mater. Energy 43, 101940 (2025).10.1016/j.nme.2025.101940 ↗