Ion rotational velocity of a field-reversed configuration plasma measured by neutral beam probe spectroscopy

Abstract

The ion rotational angular velocity Ω and the ion temperature Ti of a translated field-reversed configuration (FRC) plasma are measured using neutral beam probe spectroscopy. The value of Ω is ∼(1.0∼1.2)×Ω* at the onset time of the n=2 rotational instability, where Ω* is the ion diamagnetic frequency for a rigid-rotor equilibrium. The ion rotational direction is the same as the ion diamagnetic direction. The value of Ω is smaller than the angular frequency ωre of the n=2 instability, which can yield experimental evidence of the ion kinetic effects on the n=2 instability in the FRC plasma. When the octupole field is applied to the plasma in order to suppress the n=2 deformation, Ω is slightly reduced. The ion temperature Ti is ∼70 eV at the onset time of the n=2 instability.