Penetration and radial force balance in field-reversed configuration with large rotating magnetic field

A field-reversed configuration (FRC) is formed by applying a rotating magnetic field (RMF) much larger than the axial magnetic field to a cylindrical glass vacuum chamber filled with 10 Pa argon gas without a preionization. The FRC with the plasma density 2.2× 1019 m-3, the temperature 8.0 eV, the separatrix length 0.45 m, and the separatrix radius 0.035 m is sustained for the notably long period of 40 ms. It is observed that the antenna current which produces the RMF is reduced by about half after the FRC is formed. The interaction between the plasma and the antenna circuit increases the antenna resistance and changes the inductance of the antenna so that the circuit becomes nonresonant. The RMF is sufficiently large to fully penetrate to the center during the period and drive the current with a rigid rotor profile. The RMF is shown to play a major role in sustaining the plasma pressure. © 2008 American Institute of Physics.