Stabilization of the Alfven-ion cyclotron instability through short plasmas: Fully kinetic simulations in a high-beta regime

October 2023 | B. Nicks | Physics of Plasmas | Paper

The Alfven-ion cyclotron (AIC) mode is an instability that can be driven in magnetized plasmas with anisotropic pressure. Its chief deleterious effect is the driving of enhanced pitch-angle scattering of ions

Optimization and feedback control of the C-2W configuration

October 2023 | J.A. Romero | IAEA-FEC 2023 | Presentation

C-2W holds a high beta FRC plasma in an easily accessible linear device. Plasma is elongated to improve performance, resulting in axial instability. Feedback control stabilizes and sustains the long plasma in steady state.

Enhanced Plasma Performance in C-2W Advanced Beam-Driven Field-Reversed Configuration Experiments

October 2023 | H. Gota | IAEA-FEC 2023 | Poster

The NB power-supply system has recently been upgraded to extend the pulse length from 30 ms to 40 ms, which allows for a longer plasma lifetime thus better characterization and further enhancement of FRC performance.

Potential development and electron energy confinement in an expanding magnetic field divertor geometry

August 2023 | S. Gupta | Physics of Plasmas | Paper

The formation of electrostatic potential in an expanding magnetic field divertor is numerically simulated using a kinetic model. As theoretically expected, the electrostatic potential is formed in the expanding magnetic field…