The control of non-axisymmetric toroidal plasmas, stellarators, has a different character than the control of tokamaks for two reasons. Non-axisymmetric magnetic fields (1) can provide an arbitrarily large fraction of the poloidal magnetic field and (2) can strongly center the plasma in the chamber making it impossible to lose position control. The focus of stellarator design is on plasmas that are stable without feedback, need little or no change in the external magnetic field as the plasma evolves, and require no external power to maintain the desired magnetic configuration. The physics of non-axisymmetric fields is the same whether in a tokamak or a stellarator and whether introduced intentionally or accidentally. Fundamental physics indicates that plasma shape, which is controlled by the distribution of the external magnetic field that is normal to the plasma surface, is the primary control for fusion plasmas. The importance of non-axisymmetric control is set by the importance of toroidal plasma physics. Informed decisions on the development strategy of tokamaks, as well as magnetic fusion in general, require an understanding of the capabilities and difficulties of plasma control at various levels of non-axisymmetric shaping.
Linear ideal MHD predictions for n = 2 non-axisymmetric magnetic perturbations on DIII-D