Abstract
The 2014 joint Varenna-Lausanne international workshop on the theory of fusion plasmas was once more a great meeting. The programme covers a wide variety of topics, namely turbulence, MHD, edge physics and RF wave heating. The broad spectrum of skills involved in this meeting, from fundamental to applied physics, is striking. The works published in this special issue combine mathematics, numerics and physics at various levels - confirming the increasing integration of expertise in our community.
As an incentive to read this cluster, let us mention a few outstanding results. Several papers address fundamental issues in turbulent transport, in particular the dynamics of structures. It is quite remarkable that this subject is now mature enough to propose signatures that can be tested by measurements. Linear and non linear MHD was also at the forefront. Several works illustrate the increasing level of realistic description of a fusion device, in particular by implementing complicated wall geometries. Moreover some noticeable progress has been made in the understanding of reconnection processes in collisionless regimes. The activity on radio-frequency heating and current drive is well represented, driven by the future operation of W7-X, ITER, and DEMO on a longer time scale. Finally the development of innovative numerical techniques, an old tradition of the conference, has driven several nice articles.
The programme committee is traditionally keen in promoting young scientists. A number of senior scientists also attend the meeting on a regular basis, so that the attendance was nicely balanced. We believe that these efforts have been particularly fruitful this year. The number of young (and less young) faces was particularly impressive and this special issue illustrates this feature.
The success of the 2014 edition brings evidence that the joint Varenna-Lausanne is the right place for presenting th
The quality and size of the scientific production is illustrated by the 22 papers which appear in the present volume of Journal of Physics Conference Series - all peer reviewed. Let us mention another set of 19 papers to appear in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. We hope the reader will enjoy this special issue and will find ideas for new bright achievements.
Xavier Garbet, Olivier Sauter
October 23, 2014
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