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Spheromak Merging And Field Reversed Configuration Formation At The Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment, C. D. Cothran, Abram Lockhart Falk , '03, Matthew J. Landreman , '03, Michael R. Brown, M. J. Schaffer
Spheromak Merging And Field Reversed Configuration Formation At The Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment, C. D. Cothran, Abram Lockhart Falk , '03, Matthew J. Landreman , '03, Michael R. Brown, M. J. Schaffer
Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works
The initial results of coaxial co- and counter-helicity spheromak merging studies at the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment (SSX) [M. R. Brown, Phys. Plasmas 6, 1717 (1999)] are reported. In its new configuration, SSX is optimized to study field reversed configuration (FRC) formation and stability by counter-helicity spheromak merging. A pair of midplane coils magnetically restricts the merging process to determine how the stability of the resulting magnetic configuration depends upon the quantity of toroidal flux remaining from the initial spheromaks. The diagnostic set at SSX, featuring the capability of measuring up to 600 magnetic field components at 800 ns time resolution, …
Energetic Particles From Three-Dimensional Magnetic Reconnection Events In The Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment, Michael R. Brown, C. D. Cothran, Matthew J. Landreman , '03, David J. Schlossberg , '01
Energetic Particles From Three-Dimensional Magnetic Reconnection Events In The Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment, Michael R. Brown, C. D. Cothran, Matthew J. Landreman , '03, David J. Schlossberg , '01
Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works
Measurements are presented from the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment (SSX) [M. R. Brown, Phys. Plasmas 6, 1717 (1999)] showing a population of superthermal, super-Alfvénic ions with Ē≅90 eV and Emax⩾200 eV accelerated by reconnection activity in three-dimensional magnetic structures. These energetic ions are temporally and spatially correlated with three-dimensional magnetic reconnection events (measured with a 3D probe array) and are accelerated along the X-line normal to the local 2D plane of reconnection. In a typical SSX discharge, the peak reconnection electromotive force ℰ=vBL⩽(105 m/s)(0.05 T)(0.1 m)=500 V consistent with our observations. In addition, test particle simulations using magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) data from …
Experimental Studies Of Magnetic Reconnection, Michael R. Brown
Experimental Studies Of Magnetic Reconnection, Michael R. Brown
Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works
Laboratory magnetic reconnection experiments have been performed for nearly 20 years. Elegant experiments by Stenzel and Gekelman [R. L. Stenzel and W. Gekelman, Phys. Rev. Lett. 42, 1055 (1979); W. Gekelman and R. L. Stenzel, Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 2414 (1985)] focused on the measurement of field quantities with a single movable probe in a highly reproducible plasma. Observations included a very thin current sheet (on the order of c/ωpe), accelerated electrons, and whistler waves. The argon ions were unmagnetized in these experiments. Recent magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) experiments by Yamada and Ono have used merging plasmoids [M. Yamada, Y. Ono, A. …