Three-dimensional features in burning plasmas

Due to the marked anisotropy of magnetically confined plasmas, three-dimensional effects are expected to play an important role in the path toward fusion burning plasmas. In particular, the drastic change in magnetic topology associated with reconnecting modes on rational magnetic surfaces [1] may decrease the thermal electron conductivity parallel to the magnetic field lines, with consequent impact on fusion heating. We describe this new scenario, and present analytical and numerical calculations aimed at verifying the influence of reconnection on the thermonuclear instability.