Observation of Centrifugally Driven Interchange Instabilities in a Plasma Confined by a Magnetic Dipole

Journal Article · Fri May 06 00:00:00 EDT 2005 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.175002· OSTI ID:20696240

Levitt, B; Maslovsky, D; Mauel, M E ^[1]

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1. Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 (United States)

Centrifugally driven interchange instabilities are observed in a laboratory plasma confined by a dipole magnetic field. The instabilities appear when an equatorial mesh is biased to drive a radial current that causes rapid axisymmetric plasma rotation. The observed instabilities are quasicoherent in the laboratory frame of reference; they have global radial mode structures and low azimuthal mode numbers, and they are modified by the presence of energetic, magnetically confined electrons. Results from a self-consistent nonlinear simulation reproduce the measured mode structures.

• OSTI ID: 20696240
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 94, Issue 17; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.175002; (c) 2005 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
58 GEOSCIENCES
AXIAL SYMMETRY
ELECTRONS
FLUTE INSTABILITY
MAGNETIC DIPOLES
MAGNETIC FIELDS
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
PLASMA
PLASMA CONFINEMENT
ROTATION
SIMULATION