Physics of the transition to high confinement in fusion plasma

Fusion energy is considered as an important future source for the reliable, sustainable base load power. Noting its demanding and costly science and technology challenges, fusion energy is developed today with a concerted world-wide co-operation. The planned full power operation of the international experimental fusion reactor ITER now under construction is based on confinement transition of the plasma fuel where a transport barrier at the plasma edge roughly doubles the fuel energy confinement. In the present project, the complex generation of the barrier is tried first time to see in a physics first principles simulation of the evolving fuel plasma with best supercomputers. This will help to understand the process and conditions and scaling of the fusion reactor operation.