1.
Phys Rev Lett
; 105(8): 085003, 2010 Aug 20.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20868105
ABSTRACT
Interferometric density measurements in plasmas rotating in shaped, open magnetic fields demonstrate strong confinement of plasma parallel to the magnetic field, with density drops of more than a factor of 10. Taken together with spectroscopic measurements of supersonic E × B rotation of sonic Mach 2, these measurements are in agreement with ideal MHD theory which predicts large parallel pressure drops balanced by centrifugal forces in supersonically rotating plasmas.