Tomographic reconstruction of deformed internal structure of a field-reversed configuration

Deformation of the internal structure of a field-reversed configuration (FRC) was studied using a tomographic reconstruction technique. A simple and configurable tomographic system was developed, with which the time evolution of the FRC internal structure was reconstructed. In the latter phase of equilibrium, a FRC has a well-known global rotational instability with toroidal mode number n=2. It has been believed that elliptical deformation of the FRC allows interaction between the wall and the plasma, which terminates this configuration. However, these experiments revealed the FRC to deform into a dumbbell-like structure before the edge hits the chamber wall, leading to the disruption phase. In addition, an internal shift (toroidal mode number n=1) mode was observed in the equilibrium phase, followed by growth of n=2 rotational instability. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.