Toroidal Spin-Up and Velocity Shear of a Field-Reversed Configuration Plasma

Abstract

A spatial distribution of toroidal flow in a field-reversed configuration plasma generated by the field-reversed theta-pinch method has been measured by an ion Doppler spectroscopy (IDS) system with a line-spectrum of impurity carbon (CV: 227.2 nm) and a Mach probe. With the IDS system, the axial profile of toroidal flow was observed. The observed results show different time evolutions of toroidal spin-up at around the midplane and end regions of the FRC. The radial profile of toroidal flow has also been observed on the weakly ionized plasma outside the separatrix with the Mach probe method. These results indicate propagation of toroidal momentum to the scrape-off plasma outward from the center.