End shape effects on the m{sub {theta}}=1 diocotron instability in hollow electron columns

Journal Article · Fri Dec 10 00:00:00 EST 1999 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1302121· OSTI ID:21210354

Kabantsev, A A; Driscoll, C F ^[1]

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1. Physics Department, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 (United States)

Magnetically confined hollow columns of electrons exhibit a robust exponential m{sub {theta}}=1 diocotron instability, whereas standard 2-D fluid theory predicts at most algebraic growth. This discrepancy suggests that experimental subtleties such as finite axial length of the plasma column must be considered. Here, we present a systematic analysis of our experiments to determine the detailed influence of the plasma end curvature on the observed diocotron instability. Observed dependencies of unstable mode frequency, growth rate and spatial eigenfunction as a function of the plasma end curvature are in quantitative (factor-of-two) agreement with recent quasi-2D extension of the fluid theory.

• OSTI ID: 21210354
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 498, Issue 1; Conference: Workshop on non-neutral plasma physics III, Princeton, NJ (United States), 2-5 Aug 1999; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.1302121; (c) 1999 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
EIGENFUNCTIONS
EIGENVALUES
ELECTRONS
MAGNETIC CONFINEMENT
PLASMA
PLASMA FLUID EQUATIONS
PLASMA INSTABILITY
ROTATIONAL STATES
TRAPS