SGER: Exploratory Investigation of Simulation of Solar Plasma with Accelerated Compact Toroid

研究人员将产生磁性等离子体团，可以激发与太阳和行星际等离子体相关的非线性过程。主要工作是开发能够测量非线性过程的实验室诊断方法，并开发物理过程及其与太阳和行星际等离子体相关性的理论和计算机模型。类球体紧凑环（SCT）是一种磁化的电离物质（等离子体团），具有自生的平衡磁场结构，可以在几十微秒的寿命内限制等离子体。这种类型的等离子体团在实验室磁聚变实验中具有很大的兴趣，其开发已通过DOE项目得到支持。SCT的独特性能之一是它可以承受巨大的加速力，因此可以在相对较短的距离内达到高速（超过100公里/秒）。因此，SCT加速器相当紧凑，易于在实验室实验中使用。过去，SCT加速器的缺点之一是由于缺乏高功率可重复开关而限制其重复率。低速率限制了该装置在物理实验中的使用，其中在合理的时间范围内需要静态有意义的数据库。研究人员现在已经开发和操作了一个可重复的SCT加速器使用被动开关。目前，脉搏频率已从每分钟一次增加到每5秒一次。气阀系统的改进将使频率提高到100 Hz以上。此外，加速器的可靠性已达到1000次以上的射击在.2赫兹的速率。实验室等离子体具有明显的优势，它的物理参数可以仔细控制，动态过程可以精确诊断。这两种情况在天体物理等离子体中都不可能发生。

The investigators will generate magnetic plasmoids that can excite non-linear processes relevant to solar and inter planetary plasmas. The main effort is to develop the laboratory diagnostics capable of measuring the non-linear processes and to develop theoretical and computer models of the physical processes and their relevancy to solar and interplanetary plasmas. The Spheromak-like compact toroid (SCT) is a magnetized blob of ionized material (plasmoid) with self-generated equilibrium magnetic field structures that can confine the plasma over its lifetime of several tens of microseconds. This type of plasmoid is of great interest in laboratory magnetic fusion experiments and its development has been supported through DOE projects. One of the unique properties of the SCT is that it can withstand a tremendous accelerating force, so high speed (over 100 km/sec) can be reached in relatively short distance. Therefore, SCT accelerators are fairly compact and easily usable in laboratory experiments. In the past, one of the drawbacks of the SCT accelerator is the limit on its repetition rate by lack of high power repeatable switches. The low rate limits the use of this apparatus in physics experiment where statically meaningful database is required in a reasonable time frame. The investigators have now developed and operated a repeatable SCT accelerator using passive switching. At present, the pulse rate has increased from one per minute to one every 5 seconds. Improvement in the gas valve system will increase the rate to over 100 Hz. Moreover, the reliability of the accelerator has achieved over 1000 shots at the .2 Hz rate. Laboratory plasmas have the distinct advantage that its physical parameters can be carefully controlled and dynamic processes can be precisely diagnosed. Neither of these is possible with astrophysical plasmas.