GDMT Multiple-Mirror Trap

The Gas-Dynamic Multiple-Mirror Trap (GDMT) is an advanced magnetic confinement fusion research facility developed at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (BINP). Operating as a next-generation open magnetic mirror architecture, GDMT builds on decades of mirror-confinement physics to achieve high-beta plasma stability and improved longitudinal particle retention. By integrating gas-dynamic central trap mechanics with multiple-mirror end sections, the system is designed to suppress axial plasma losses that historically limited linear magnetic systems. Key diagnostic and operational protocols focus on the behavior of Trapped Flux within high-density regimes, connecting directly to the theoretical principles refined during the 1985 Sheath-Confined Flux Trapping Model Published milestone. The device serves as a critical testbed for steady-state plasma sustainment, neutral beam injection, and high-heat-flux material testing, maintaining a specialized niche alongside toroidal magnetic approaches and dynamic compression platforms like the CTC Experiment. Research conducted at the facility informs both fundamental plasma transport theory and advanced reactor scaling parameters.