Characterization of a compact electron cyclotron resonance plasma source under negative DC biasing and microwave plasma cathode operation

February 2026 | Y. Shimabukuro | Plasma Sources Science and Technology | Paper

To realize future long-lifetime negative hydrogen ion sources, two approaches were investigated using a compact coaxial ECR plasma source: direct negative DC biasing and a microwave plasma cathode (MPC) configuration. In noble gases such as argon, …

Plasma flow and equilibrium in the magnetic nozzle

June 2026 | A. Smolyakov (Univ. of Saskatchewan) | Journal of Plasmas Physics | Paper

Axisymmetric cylindrical configurations of the magnetic field are used to confine and guide plasmas in fusion and electric propulsion devices, where plasma equilibria are established as a balance between plasma pressure, magnetic stress (pressure) …

Fast-Ion Axial Bounce Resonance in a Linear Magnetic Fusion Device

May 2026 | S. Karbashewski | Physical Review Letters | Paper

We report observations of an energetic-particle mode (EPM) in a linear plasma device that corresponds to an axial bounce resonance of fast ions sourced from neutral-beam injection (NBI). In our experiment, novel dynamic shaping of a magnetic mirror field reduces the distance …

Verification of an energy-conserving semi-implicit electrostatic particle-in-cell scheme for modeling high-density plasma at scale

May 2026 | R.M. Hedlof (SNL) | Physics of Plasmas | Paper

A verification study of a semi-implicit energy-conserving electrostatic particle-in-cell algorithm is presented. The algorithm relaxes the time-step and mesh-size constraints that require resolution of the plasma period and Debye length associated with traditional explicit momentum-conserving particle-in-cell algorithms

Rapid damping of magnetic turbulence induced by collisional merging process of field-reversed configurations

May 2026 | D. Kobayashi (Nihon Univ.) | Nuclear Fusion | Paper

The damping process of magnetic turbulence induced by the collisional merging of field-reversed configurations (FRCs) was investigated using the FAT-CM device at Nihon University. Two FRC-like plasmoids collided at super-Alfvénic and supersonic speeds.