Magnetic Reconnection in the MST Reversed Field Pinch
Magnetic field line reconnection is a process whereby magnetic field lines which are otherwise topologically preserved by, and frozen into, a plasma can break and reconnect to form field lines with different topologies. It plays a significant role in a wide variety of plasmas, including stellar, space and laboratory plasmas. The focus of this dissertation is the underlying dynamics of reconnection in one particular kind of laboratory plasma: the Reversed Field Pinch (RFP). Specifically, this dissertation reports measurements, made using a pair of insertable diagnostics in conjunction with arrays of magnetic sensing coils positioned near the plasma surface, of the spatial structure of the magnetic and parallel current density fluctuations associated with reconnection in the edge of MST. At least 4 significant results are obtained form such measurements. First we observe direct evidence of reconnection which takes the form of tearing modes in an RFP. Specifically we measure a (radial) magnetic field fluctuation that causes reconnection in the so-called reversal surface, or q = 0 surface, in the edge of MST. Notably this evidence of reconnection at the reversal surface is the first of its kind in an RFP. Second, we measure the radial width of the associated current sheet, or fluctuation in the component of the current density parallel to the equilibrium magnetic field. Such current sheets are a characteristic feature of the reconnection process but their radial widths are sensitive to the specific effects that allow reconnection to occur sometimes call non-ideal effects because reconnection is forbidden by ideal MHD. We compare the observed width to those expected from models of reconnection that incorporate different non-ideal effects in Ohm's law. In particular we see that the observed width is significantly larger than those expected form resistivity in the context of linearly unstable tearing modes and electron inertia. It is a factor of a few larger than the width expected form the electron pressure gradient effect. It is significantly smaller than the width expected from the ion inertia, but this width is not expected to be relevant to a strongly magnetized plasma such as an RFP. Notably it is comparable to the width of the magnetic island produced by the associated tearing mode. This is consistent with expectation for saturated or fully developed resistive tearing modes such as MST is believed to exhibit. It is also consistent with the broadening of a smaller width current sheet through current transport due to parallel streaming of charge carriers (along the field lines of the associated island). Third we obtain estimates of the radial charge transport or radial current density due to streaming charge of carriers along magnetic field lines that results from reconnection in the edge of MST. We find that in contradiction with the theoretical expectation for isolated tearing modes it is non-vanishing and in fact large enough to imply both the existence of another charge transport mechanism to maintain charge neutrality and a significant difference in the radial ion and electron particle fluxes due to parallel streaming of particles. Fourth we interpret the flux surface average of j and b as a J x B force density on the plasma. We observe in agreement with theory and observation for interacting tearing modes in an RFP that the radial structure of the force density during sawtooth crashes is such as to flatten the equilibrium radial gradient in toroidal velocity. We observe also that it is sufficiently large as to imply the existence of other force densities on the plasma.
- Research Organization:
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Research (ER) (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG02-96ER54345
- OSTI ID:
- 783598
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ER54345-348; TRN: US0108359
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Jun 2001
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Electron thermal transport within magnetic islands in the reversed-field pinch
Overview of results in the MST reversed field pinch experiment