Measurements of anomalous particle and energy fluxes in a magnetized plasma.

Abstract

Electrostatic probe measurements of low frequency plasma fluctuations and anomalous particle and energy flux densities in a magnetized plasma are presented. A method allowing the simultaneous recording of instantaneous electric field, electron density, and temperature is invoked. The method is applied to flux density measurements in a weakly ionized, low beta plasma created in a toroidal device without magnetic rotational transform. It is also used to identify modes belonging to different dispersion branches and to obtain the dispersion relations for these modes. For the plasma states studied, the phase velocities and the cross phase between the electron density and electric field agree with those predicted from a local, linear stability analysis for electrostatic flute modes and drift waves. The instability threshold, however, is one order of magnitude higher than predicted by theory for unsheared flow. The fluxes measured are consistent with the estimated ionization rate.