Dynamic formation of a hot field reversed configuration with improved confinement by supersonic merging of two colliding high-ß compact toroids

Year: 2010

Authors: Binderbauer M.W., Guo H.Y., Tuszewski M., Putvinski S., Sevier L., Barnes D., Rostoker N., Anderson M.G., Andow R., Bonelli L., Brandi F., Brown R., Bui D.Q., Bystritskii V., Ceccherini F., Clary R., Cheung A.H., Conroy K.D., Deng B.H., Dettrick S.A., Douglass J.D., Feng P., Galeotti L., Garate E., Giammanco F., Glass F.J., Gornostaeva O., Gota H., Gupta D., Gupta S., Kinley J.S., Knapp K., Korepanov S., Hollins M., Isakov I., Jose V.A., Li X.L., Luo Y., Marsili P., Mendoza R., Meekins M., Mok Y., Necas A., Paganini E., Pegoraro F., Pousa-Hijos R., Primavera S., Ruskov E., Qerushi A., Schmitz L., Schroeder J.H., Sibley A., Smirnov A., Song Y., Sun X., Thompson M.C., Van Drie A.D., Walters J.K., Wyman M.D.

Autors Affiliation: Tri Alpha Energy Inc., Post Office Box 7010, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688, United States; Department of Physics, University of Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa, Italy; Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547, United States

Abstract: A hot stable field-reversed configuration (FRC) has been produced in the C-2 experiment by colliding and merging two high-ß plasmoids preformed by the dynamic version of field-reversed ?-pinch technology. The merging process exhibits the highest poloidal flux amplification obtained in a magnetic confinement system (over tenfold increase). Most of the kinetic energy is converted into thermal energy with total temperature (Ti+Te) exceeding 0.5 keV. The final FRC state exhibits a record FRC lifetime with flux confinement approaching classical values. These findings should have significant implications for fusion research and the physics of magnetic reconnection.

Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS

Volume: 105 (4)      Pages from: 045003-1  to: 045003-4

KeyWords: MAGNETIC RECONNECTION; PLASMA; TRANSLATION; RELAXATION; FRC
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.045003

Citations: 98
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