A laboratory produced extremely large beta plasma

S. P. Banerjee, V. P. Anitha, G. Ravi, and S. K. Mattoo

Citation: Physics of Plasmas (1994-present) 13, 092503 (2006); doi: 10.1063/1.2338022

View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.2338022
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 PHYSICS OF PLASMAS 13, 092503 共2006兲

A laboratory produced extremely large beta plasma

S. P. Banerjee, V. P. Anitha, G. Ravi,a兲 and S. K. Mattoo
Institute for Plasma Research, Bhat, Gandhinagar, India
共Received 17 April 2006; accepted 26 July 2006; published online 8 September 2006兲
This paper discusses laboratory production of an extremely large-beta 共␤ ⬃ 103兲 plasma, termed
ELB plasma, over an extended volume of 0.5 m3. The plasma ␤ can be varied from ⬍1 to values
as large as 103, thereby allowing us to study physical processes through a large range of ␤. Desired
␤ values are achieved by tailoring the ambient magnetic field by compensating fields over time
scales far less than the plasma confinement time. We observe that during this compensation, the
magnetic field penetration from the wall to the plasma occurs at Whistler speed. The Whistler mode
is accompanied by excitation of electrostatic ion wave. We have shown that the diamagnetism of the
ELB plasma is considerably modified essentially through the effect of finiteness of electron Larmor
radius 共rLe兲 in the force equilibrium. Application of these results to the space plasma is pointed
out. © 2006 American Institute of Physics. 关DOI: 10.1063/1.2338022兴

I. INTRODUCTION through the significance of k储rLe ⬃ ␻ / ␻ce ⬃ ␦B / B, and ap-

A large value of plasma beta 共␤兲 lying in a wide range of
1 – 103 is a characteristic of stellar terrestrial environment;
for example, the solar atmosphere.1 Here, ␤ is the ratio of
particle pressure to magnetic pressure, i.e., nkT / 共B2 / 2␮兲,
where n and T denote the plasma density and temperature,
and B is the ambient magnetic field. In the solar photosphere,
the high ␤ is a result of parametric conditions including typi-
cal density ne ⬃ 1023 m−3, Te ⬃ 1 eV, and B ⬃ 500– 1000 G.
In case of solar wind, the ␤ is large mainly because of the
very low B in the range 0.1– 0.3 G, the other parameters
being ne ⬃ 1013 m−3 and Te ⬇ 50– 100 eV. In both these re-
gimes, the magnetic field lines cease to be force free.2 Fur-
ther, when the ambient magnetic field is low, the Larmor
radii of particles 共ions, electrons兲 become comparable with
characteristic scale lengths of the plasma. This gives rise to
kinetic effects that play governing role in physical processes.
Gyrokinetic effects on the characteristics of magnetohy-
drodynamic 共MHD兲 modes3 due to increased ion Larmor ra-
dius 共rLi兲 is one example of high-␤ effects. Understanding of
this has relevance in anomalous transport processes4 in fu-
sion and space plasma. In case of Alfvén waves, the finite ion
Larmor radius 共FILR兲 effects modify the dispersion relation
through the prominence of the component, k⬜ 2 2
rLi / 2
= 共K⬜vA / ⍀i兲 ␤ / 2 that appears in the dielectric tensor. Here,
2 In presence of a null point, the manifestation of nonlinearity
vA is the Alfvén velocity, K⬜ is the component of wave vec-
tor perpendicular to the magnetic field, and ⍀i is the ion
Larmor radius. In case of hydromagnetic instabilities,3 FILR
effects result in significant enhancement of the growth rate
over a large range of wave numbers. Understanding of these
instabilities has relevance in astrophysics and solar terrestrial
physics.
As for electrons, their increased Larmor radius 共rLe兲 in-
fluences plasma dynamics having wave frequency ␻ ⬍ ␻ce,
which covers both MHD and electron magnetohydrodynamic
共EMHD兲 perturbations.5 Here, finite electron Larmor radius
共FELR兲 effects modify conventional dispersion relation
a兲
Present address: GE India Technology Center, Bangalore, India.
proach of k⬜rLe to unity. FELR effects play important role in
the physics of collisionless fast magnetic reconnection,6 a
fundamental process in fusion devices and space plasmas.
In addition to the investigation of stellar terrestrial con-
ditions, study of large-␤ plasma has implications in near-
Earth plasma as well. Laboratory observations on EMHD
phenomena occurring in ionospheric plasma need to be
supplemented with experiments in high-␤ conditions. This is
in view of resolving the existing conjectures related to propa-
gation of EMHD structures in a finite B and in the presence
of a null point. Here,7 the presence of a null point in the
plasma is observed to cause significant changes in the propa-
gation of antenna excited EMHD structures. The latter is
observed to undergo considerable energy loss traveling
across a null point. The mechanism of this energy loss is not
clearly understood. Further, the large-amplitude 共B̃z / Bo ⬃ 1兲
EMHD structures are shown to possess observable nonlinear
characteristics only in presence of a null point.8,9 In a finite
B, the structures exhibit no observable nonlinearity, as
evidenced10,11 by experiments on their interaction. This ab-
sence of nonlinearity was attributed12 to the force-free nature
of the field lines that follow from their evolution equation
⳵B / ⳵t + ⵱ ⫻ 共v ⫻ B兲 = 0, where v is the electron fluid velocity.
is interpreted to be due to the loss of physical processes
required for sustaining the wave. It is not clear as to how a
null point can have such a strong influence on a structure
having characteristic length 共␭ ⬃ 10 cm兲 Ⰷ extent of null.9
While on one hand, these results on antenna excited EMHD
structures indicate that a null point is required for invoking
nonlinearity, the spontaneously excited structures13 behave
differently. Here, the excitation of wide-band EMHD turbu-
lence indicates existence of nonlinear interactions even in
presence of a finite B. There is thus a contradiction between
the observations on antenna excited and spontaneously ex-
cited EMHD structures, that directs one to reconsider the
“null point” paradigm and to invoke the possible contribu-
tion of large-␤ effects to explain the nonlinear features. This

1070-664X/2006/13共9兲/092503/12/$23.00 13, 092503-1 © 2006 American Institute of Physics

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 092503-2 Banerjee et al.
is because a comparison of the two situations where nonlin-
earity is observed: 共i兲 antenna excited EMHD structures in
the presence of a null point and 共ii兲 EMHD turbulence spon-
taneously excited in the plasma show that a significant frac-
tion of the experimental volume in both cases experience
large-␤ values 共⬃102兲. In case 共i兲, this high-␤ region exists
around the null point. In case 共ii兲, this results as a diamag-
netic response of the plasma whereby the magnetic field is
expelled to values close to zero, causing an increase in ␤.13
Significant modification on the characteristics of EMHD
structures is expected due to FELR effects through finiteness
in rLe / L and k储rLe and through k⬜rLe ⬃ 1. Here, L indicates
the scale length in B, B / ⵱B.
The global characteristics of the plasma also get modi-
fied by large-␤ effects, as evidenced by our experimental
observations discussed in this paper. Here, the diamagnetic
response of the plasma is modified by FELR effects due to
enhanced E ⫻ B EMHD current. This enhancement in current
is due to the additional term rLe 2
⵱2E in the conventional
equation.
Understanding of large-␤ effects on plasma phenomena
require acquisition of spatially and temporally resolved data.
This is not possible using existing techniques on astronomi-
cal observations. This is because these ground based tech-
niques are limited to observations on particle emissions. De-
tailed investigation of such a plasma requires simulation of
large-␤ conditions in a laboratory in a manner that enables
controlled experiments, devoid of boundary effects.
Such high-␤ conditions are difficult to realize in a labo-
ratory by conventional methods. This is because a finite dc
magnetic field is required to produce and confine a high den-
sity 共⬃1018 m−3兲 plasma. Presence of this ambient field sets
an upper limit to the attainable value of ␤. The only manner
in which ␤ can be increased is by reducing the ambient mag-
netic fields after the plasma parameters 共ne , Te兲 reach a
steady state. In order that the steady-state parameters are not
significantly altered due to the reduction in field, the latter
needs to be carried out over times scales far less than the
confinement time 共␶兲 of the plasma.
Formation of a large-␤ plasma and its characterization in
terms of the energy balance and diamagnetic response forms
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FIG. 1. Schematic of the experimental setup showing a
set of three Helmholtz coils, two installed outside and
one inside, for compensating the three components of
the ambient dc magnetic field produced by a set of ten
magnet coils.
the main focus of this paper. The setup enables attainment of
plasma ␤ over a wide range of ⬍1 – 103, by tailoring the
ambient field to the required value over time scales Ⰶ␶. The
reduction of magnetic field is achieved by field penetration in
Whistler time scales. The extreme condition in which ␤ as-
sumes values as large as ⬃103 is obtained when the ambient
field is reduced to ⬇200 mG. This extremely large-beta
plasma, termed ELB plasma, extends over a cylindrical vol-
ume of ⬇0.5 m3 共r = 0.4 m, l = 1 m兲. Observations on this
plasma reveal evidences of FELR effects modifying the E
⫻ B currents, and hence plasma diamagnetism.
The next section briefly describes the experimental setup
and procedure. In Sec. III, a detailed account on the produc-
tion of ELB plasma and its characterization is given. Discus-
sions are presented in Sec. IV and conclusions are given in
Sec. V.
II. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP AND PROCEDURE
The schematic of the experimental set up is shown in
Fig. 1. The setup facilitates production of ELB plasma
through two steps.
共i兲 Production of plasma: Plasma of required density is
produced in the Large Volume Plasma Device 共LVPD兲
共3 m long, 2 m diameter兲, using a multifilamentary
source. It is confined using a dc axial magnetic field
Bo 共1 – 20 G兲 produced with the help of ten external
magnet coils. The details of LVPD14 and the plasma
source have been discussed elsewhere.15 The dis-
charge is pulsed with Id fall ⬃10 ␮s and plateau or
the mainglow period of ⬃5 – 10 ms. The plasma con-
finement time ␶ ⬃ 1 ms.
共ii兲 Cancellation of Bo: The ELB plasma is produced by
cancelling the confining field Bo, over a time scale
Ⰶ␶. This cancellation is done either during the main-
glow or afterglow of the discharge depending on the
experimental requirement. In addition to the applied
field Bo along the device axis, the magnetic field to be
cancelled includes the three components of Earth’s
magnetic field 共⬇500 mG兲 having an elevation of 41°
 092503-3 A laboratory produced extremely large beta plasma
from the horizontal level at the latitude 24° of our
laboratory.
Cancellation of Bx, By, and Bz is achieved with the help
of three Helmholtz coils. The convention adopted for x, y,
and z coordinates is shown in Fig. 1. The Helmholtz coils
used for Bx and By compensation are square shaped. The
spacing between the coils is determined by setting both the
first and second spatial derivatives of the field to zero at the
center of the system of coils. For our purpose, coils of di-
mensions 560 cm⫻ 560 cm 共compensating coil system for
Bx component兲 and 400 cm⫻ 400 cm 共compensating coil
system for By component兲 have been placed outside the de-
vice. These coils are fed with dc current to enable compen-
sation of Bx and By field components continuously through-
out the experimental duration involving several plasma
shots. The operation of the Bz compensation coil is in pulsed
mode as an initial finite dc field Bo is required for confining
the plasma. Pulsed operation necessitates high power to be
applied to the coil if it is installed outside the device to
compensate for the field attenuation due to the metallic
chamber wall. In order to optimize the power requirement,
we have installed the Bz compensation coil inside the device,
as shown in Fig. 1. This is a five-turn circular Helmholtz coil
with diameter 184 cm.
The exciter circuit used to drive pulsed current in the Bz
Helmholtz coil consists of a capacitor bank of value 1466 ␮F
共two parallel sets⫻ 3 capacitors of 2200 ␮F each兲, power
supply, and an Ignitron switch. Peak current is ⬃380 A with
typical rise time of the current pulse of ⬃250 ␮s and a decay
of 5 ms. Shown in Fig. 2 is the pulsed current to the Bz coil
and the corresponding field produced. The effect of eddy
currents in the conducting vessel is clearly visible.
The diagnostics consist of Langmuir probes for measur-
ing plasma density ne and temperature Te, Hall probes for
measuring dc magnetic field and electrostatically shielded,
and small 共10 mm diameter and 10 mm length兲, orthogonal
magnetic probes, having 30 turns each for measuring time-
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FIG. 2. Pulsed current to the Bz Helm-
holtz coil and the corresponding mag-
netic field produced.
varying magnetic fields. Langmuir probes and magnetic
probes are mounted on radially movable shafts at various
axial locations as well as on the three axis movable probe
drive system.
The data are acquired using a VXI based data acquisition
system.16 This system consists of 16 channels with a sam-
pling rate of 1 G Samples/ s. The data are stored in a data-
base from which data can be retrieved for analysis purposes.
III. RESULTS
A. Field compensation in vacuum
A concept validation of the Helmholtz coil setup has
been first carried out in vacuum. Here, cancellation of mag-
netic field was achieved by adjusting the currents in all three
Helmholtz coils in such a way as to make the net field zero at
the center of the Bz compensating coil. Field mapping was
carried out after cancelling the applied field Bo = 5 G 共in the
z direction兲 and the components of the background Earth’s
field in all three directions. The currents passed through the
Bx, By and Bz coils to make the Bnet = 0 at the center of the
Helmholtz coil are 26 A, 26 A, and 10.1 A, respectively.
Figure 3 shows field maps obtained after cancellation. A vol-
ume of 80⫻ 90⫻ 100 cm3 is obtained inside the device
within which total field 兩Bmax兩 艋 100 mG.
Although the compensating magnetic field produced by
the Helmholtz coils remains uniform 共within 1%兲 over an
extent of 1 m in all three directions, the resultant field after
executing compensation can be seen to be nonuniform, with
B = 0 at the center and varying within 100 mG over about
±50 cm extents in all three directions. This is due to the
prevailing gradients in the background field which is Earth’s
field modified by the permanent magnetic fixtures existing at
the site of our laboratory. This has been confirmed by an
independent set of Earth’s field measurements that showed
that the background field is nonuniform within 100 mG over
 092503-4 Banerjee et al. Phys. Plasmas 13, 092503 共2006兲

FIG. 3. Magnetic field contours ob-

tained after field compensation in
vacuum.

a spatial extent of 1 m within the laboratory, whereas at the The radial profile of magnetic field Bz experienced by
premises outside the laboratory, the Earth’s field the plasma shown in Fig. 5共b兲 reveals significant gradient in
共⬇500 mG兲 is highly uniform 共within 1%兲. Bz, as a consequence of diamagnetism. Also shown in this
figure are the radial profiles of particle pressure nkTe 关Fig.
5共a兲兴 and the plasma potential V p 关Fig. 5共c兲兴. Our examina-
B. Field compensation in plasma tion of energy balance supports earlier investigations13 car-
1. Typical discharge before applying field
compensation
Figure 4 shows a typical LVPD discharge. The discharge
current Id pulses are of 5 ms duration and have a rise time of
⬃500 ␮s, as shown in Fig. 4共a兲. The behavior of ne and Te
shown in Figs. 4共b兲 and 4共c兲 show that these parameters
achieve steady-state values at 艌2 ms. The mainglow plasma
parameters include ne ⬃ 4 ⫻ 1011 cm−3 and Te ⬃ 8 eV.
The externally applied magnetic field Bo is typically var-
ied in the range 4 – 20 G. Due to the diamagnetic nature13 of
the plasma, the actual field Bz experienced by the plasma is
significantly lower compared to the applied field. The value
of ␤ estimated using Bz lies in the range 1–100. Figure 4共d兲
shows the diamagnetic loop signal that is the induced voltage
Vloop = −d␾ / dt obtained at the center of the plasma column.
This indicates flux change during plasma growth and decay
due to the diamagnetic characteristic of the plasma. On add-
ing the change in field ␦B 关␦B = −共1 / nA兲 兰 Vloopdt, where n
and A are the number of turns and area of the magnet probe,
respectively兴 to the applied field of 4 G, the net magnetic
field 共Bz兲 attains a form as shown in Fig. 4共e兲. This figure
shows that 共Bz兲 = 1.3 G at the column center, as compared to
the applied field of 4 G. Once the discharged is switched off,
the rate of recovery of the magnetic field from 1.3 to 4 G at
the center follows the loss rate of energetic electrons. FIG. 4. A typical plasma shot.
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 092503-5 A laboratory produced extremely large beta plasma
FIG. 5. Radial profiles of different plasma parameters.
ried out at similar parametric conditions where the diamag-
netic behavior is found to be not entirely determined by the
pressure balance equation
Bz2/2␮ + nkTe = B2o/2␮ .
According to this equation, Bz should vanish at ␤ = 1.
The ␤ = 1 point where the B2o / 2␮ 共dashed line兲 coincides
with nkTe is marked in the figure. The value of Bz, expected
to be completely expelled at this point, is actually higher
than even the applied field. Even at the column center where
␤ ⬇ 10, the field expulsion is not complete; a finite field of
1.3 G is still retained. This deviation from the predictions
based purely on pressure balance has been understood13 to be
due to the EMHD characteristic of the plasma. This is due to
the relatively low value of magnetic field that leaves elec-
trons magnetized, but not ions. Under such conditions, the
ambipolar E ⫻ B drifts given by
vE⫻B = E ⫻ B/B2
result in azimuthal Hall currents 共nevE⫻B兲. This current op-
poses the diamagnetic current produced due to fluid drift
caused by pressure gradient, given by
v⵱P = 共1/ne兲共⵱P ⫻ B/B2兲,
thereby reducing the diamagnetism. As a consequence of this
reduced net current, the radial gradient of Bz 共⳵Bz / ⳵r = ⵱
⫻ Bz = ␮o jnet兲 is also reduced, in comparison with the predic-
tions based on MHD where E ⫻ B drifts do not result in
currents.
In order to examine the role of E ⫻ B effects in modify-
ing the pressure balance, the electric field has been estimated
from the radial dependence of the plasma potential plotted in
Fig. 5共c兲. Table I gives the values obtained for 共a兲 the dia-
magnetic fluid drift velocity v⵱P 关Eq. 共3兲兴 as expected from
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Phys. Plasmas 13, 092503 共2006兲
TABLE I. Electron drift velocities.
Radial v⵱P v⵱⫻B vdiff vE⫻B
extent 共cm兲 共⫻106 cm/ s兲 共⫻106 cm/ s兲 共⫻106 cm/ s兲 共⫻106 cm/ s兲
0 – 40 cm 4.5 0.58 3.9 4.1
40– 80 cm 4.4 1.9 2.5 2.3
the pressure balance, 共b兲 the observed velocity estimated
from the measured radial gradient in Bz 共⳵Bz / ⳵r = ⵱ ⫻ B兲, us-
ing the relation
v⵱⫻B = 共1/ne␮兲⳵Bz/⳵r, 共4兲
and 共c兲 the E ⫻ B velocity vE⫻B estimated using the relation
共2兲
These values are estimated for gradient scale lengths ob-
tained for two regimes: r = 0 – 40 cm and r = 40– 80 cm. It
may be noted that in both cases, the results agree with the
relation
vE⫻B = v⵱P − v⵱⫻B . 共5兲
These results clearly demonstrate that the E ⫻ B effects re-
duce the magnetic field expulsion, and enhance the field gra-
dient scale length, by reducing the net azimuthal current.
2. Field compensation
Figure 6 shows Id 共a兲, trigger to the Bz compensation coil
共1兲 共b兲, Vloop 共c兲, Bz 共d兲, ne 共e兲, and Te 共f兲 when the trigger is
applied 共i兲 at ⬃3 ms and 共ii兲 at ⬃4.9 ms. Application of
current pulse at ⬃3 ms and at ⬃4.9 ms effect in the forma-
tion of ELB plasma in the mainglow and afterglow plasma,
respectively. Compensation in afterglow regime enables pro-
posed investigation on large-␤ effects on antenna excited
EMHD structures.
The value of current to the Helmholtz coil is so chosen
as to effect in further reduction of the partially expelled field
共1.3 G in the mainglow兲 at the center. The magnetic field
attains a plateau, corresponding to the formation of the ELB
regime, ⬃500 ␮s after the application of the current pulse to
the Helmholtz coil. Upon application of the pulse, both ne
and Te of the mainglow plasma decrease and then recover to
共2兲 a higher value, and subsequently attain a flat top, as seen
from Figs. 6共e兲 and 6共f兲. Once formed, the ELB plasma is
sustained for about 200 ␮s, as marked in Fig. 6共d兲.
3. Diamagnetic behavior
共3兲
The diamagnetic behavior of the mainglow plasma dur-
ing its transition to ELB plasma has been studied by exam-
ining the radial profiles of nkTe, V p, and Bz at different in-
stances. These profiles are plotted in Figs. 7共b兲–7共d兲 for three
temporal points indicated in Fig. 7共a兲. These temporal points
correspond to 共i兲 500 ␮s prior to, 共ii兲 250 ␮s after, and 共iii兲
500 ␮s after the application of the Helmholtz pulse.
In general, the gradient in all parameters is observed to
reduce with the approach of ␤ ⬃ 103 condition 共curve iii兲.
However, the reduction in the magnetic field gradient with
the approach of ELB condition is very significant.
 092503-6 Banerjee et al.
Figure 8 shows the estimated velocity v⵱⫻B 关using Eq.
共4兲兴 at the three instants depicted above, along with the pre-
dicted diamagnetic azimuthal velocity v⵱P 关using Eq. 共3兲兴. It
may be observed that while v⵱P is expected to increase with
reduction in ambient magnetic field, the observed velocity
共v⵱⫻B兲 shows a decreasing trend.
With the approach of ELB plasma the deviation of v⵱⫻B
from v⵱P becomes increasingly prominent, and not fully ac-
counted for by the corresponding values of vE⫻B = 共E
⫻ B / B2兲. For example, the vE⫻B ⬇ 1 ⫻ 107 cm/ s for condi-
tion 共iii兲, while the difference between v⵱⫻B and v⵱P is
⬇7 ⫻ 107 cm/ s. In other words, the magnetic field gradient
共dBz / dr兲 is reduced beyond expectation from the energy bal-
ance behavior of the discharge prior to field compensation.
Shown in Fig. 9 is a comparison of the field gradient of the
typical 共a兲 and ELB 共b兲 plasma. As is clear from the inset,
the net inhomogeneity due to diamagnetism lies within
200 mG over about 40 cm in radial extent. In addition to
this, the total magnetic field of the ELB plasma that lies
within 250 mG has its contribution from the background
magnetic field shown as curve 共c兲 in Fig. 9.
4. Shot-to-shot repeatability
Shot-to-shot variations introduce error in the magnetic
field values. Figure 10 shows plots of Bz obtained for several
plasma shots. It is observed that Bz has shot-to-shot variation
of ⬃ ± 50 mG.
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FIG. 6. Temporal profiles of plasma
parameters when the field compensa-
tion trigger is applied to the Bz Helm-
holtz coil at ⬃3 ms 共mainglow兲 and at
⬃4.9 ms 共afterglow兲.
5. Major parameters
Table II lists the major parameters of the ELB plasma
against their corresponding values prior to field compensa-
tion. Parameters that show significant differences are high-
lighted. In the main discharge, electron magnetization is en-
sured by the conditions: 1 / f ceⰆ the plasma confinement time
␶, f ce ⬎ ␯e, and rLe Ⰶ ␭mfp⬍ the radius R of the plasma col-
umn. In the ELB state, while the conditions 1 / f ce Ⰶ ␶ and
rLe ⬍ ␭mfp ⬍ R still hold true, the plasma is rendered colli-
sional as ␯e is about four times as large as f ce. Further, the
approach of ELB state is marked by an increased value of rLe
共⬇25 cm兲 that is about one-fourth of the scale length of den-
sity 共n / ⵱n ⬃ 100兲. Hence, the magnetization of the electrons
is weaker in the ELB state, as compared main discharge. As
for ions, the estimated values of f ci and rLi that have been
tabulated indicate that in both the main discharge and ELB
state, they remain unmagnetized, as is evident from the col-
lisionality 共f ci Ⰶ ␯i兲, geometry 共rLi Ⰷ R兲 and time 共1 / f ci Ⰷ ␶兲
scales.
C. Generation of plasma waves
As a response to the sudden change of magnetic field
upon application of the current pulse to the Bz Helmholtz
coil, propagating density and magnetic field perturbations are
observed in the plasma. On a temporal scale, regimes
wherein these perturbations get generated are represented in
 092503-7 A laboratory produced extremely large beta plasma Phys. Plasmas 13, 092503 共2006兲

FIG. 7. Radial profiles of nkTe, V p,

and Bz at different instances; i.e., prior
to and after application of the compen-
sation trigger to the Bz Helmholtz coil.

Fig. 11, where the Bz, Is, and Ie signals measured at the
center of the plasma column are plotted. Here, t = 0 coincides
with the trigger applied Bz compensation coil. As can be seen
from Fig. 11共a兲, the very start of the current pulse has trig-
gered generation of an electromagnetic mode represented by
a perturbation in the magnetic field. There is no density per-
turbation corresponding to this time period.
Another perturbation in Ie and Is signals, shown in Figs.
11共b兲 and 11共c兲, is generated at about 500 ␮s after the trigger
with no associated perturbation in the magnetic field denot-
ing its electrostatic behavior.
Propagation of the electromagnetic signal is shown in
Fig. 12. In the axial direction 关Fig. 12共a兲兴, measurements
carried out at r = 0 indicates propagation of this mode with a

FIG. 8. The azimuthal fluid velocity

expected from pressure gradient v⵱P
共a兲 and the velocity obtained v⵱⫻B 共b兲
at three instances shown in Fig. 7.

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 092503-8 Banerjee et al.
velocity 4 ⫻ 106 cm/ s. In the radial direction, the wave
propagates inward, from the radial boundary to the center of
the plasma column. The propagation speed is found to have a
radial dependence, with about 1 ⫻ 106 cm/ s at the boundary
that reduces to about 6 ⫻ 105 cm/ s at the center. Figure 12共c兲
shows the typical magnetic field signal obtained for 5 ms
discharge pulse where temporal regime corresponding to
wave excitation is marked.
The electrostatic signals generated 500 ␮s after applica-
tion of the trigger are found to propagate only across the
field. No axial propagation is evident. Figure 13 shows that
the radial propagation of the Is and Ie perturbations is ⬇3
⫻ 105 cm/ s.
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Phys. Plasmas 13, 092503 共2006兲
FIG. 9. Temporal profiles of plasma
parameters when the field compensa-
tion trigger is applied to the Bz Helm-
holtz coil at ⬃3 ms 共mainglow兲 and at
⬃4.9 ms 共afterglow兲.
IV. DISCUSSION
A. Major features of the ELB plasma
The results show that an ELB plasma of moderate den-
sity 共⬃4 ⫻ 1011 cm−3兲 is produced over an extended experi-
mental volume of ⬇0.5 m3 by cancelling the confining mag-
netic field and the background field after the plasma
parameters attain their steady state.
The steady-state plasma, not subjected to field compen-
sation, possesses significant diamagnetism. However, the ex-
pulsion as well as the gradient of the magnetic field are not
as large as expected from the pressure balance relation 关Eq.
共1兲兴. This is understood to result from the E ⫻ B currents
FIG. 10. Radial magnetic field profile
prior to 共a兲 and after 共b兲 application of
the field compensation. Curve 共c兲
shows the background field profile.
 092503-9 A laboratory produced extremely large beta plasma Phys. Plasmas 13, 092503 共2006兲

TABLE II. Typical plasma parameters. stand this, we look at the important parametric changes tak-
ing place in the plasma 共Table II兲 during its transition from
Prior to field After field relatively low to very large ␤. One important change is the
Parameter compensation compensation
significant increase of the electron Larmor radius rLe
Argon gas pressure 2 ⫻ 10−4 mbar 2 ⫻ 10−4 mbar 共⬇25 cm兲, comparable to the magnetic field scale length
␤ 100 共at the plasma 2 ⫻ 103 共B / ⵜB ⬃ 20兲 and about one-fourth of the density scale length
column center兲 共n / ⵱n ⬃ 100兲. The contribution of this finite electron Larmor
ne 4 ⫻ 1011 cm−3 2.5⫻ 1011 cm−3 radius 共FELR兲 is assessed by applying a correction to the
Te 8 eV 7 eV VE⫻B by using the relation
f ce 11.2 MHz 0.7 MHz
f ci 152 Hz 10 Hz vE⫻B共FELR兲 = 共1/B兲共1 + rLe
2
⵱2兲E. 共6兲
rce 2 cm 25 cm
In Fig. 14, the difference vdiff between the observed 共v⵱⫻B兲
rci 100 cm 1600 cm
and the predicted 共v⵱P兲 corresponding to the three instances
f p,e 5.6 GHz 4.5 GHz
indicated in Fig. 7共a兲 is plotted 共curve a兲. Curve b shows the
f p,i 21 MHz 16 MHz
corresponding vE⫻B estimated using the relation 共2兲. As
␯e 3 ⫻ 106 / s 2.75⫻ 106 / s
shown, before application of the Helmholtz trigger, this ve-
␯i 2.7⫻ 103 / s 2.5⫻ 103 / s
locity is ⬇vdiff. With the approach of ELB plasma, vE⫻B
vth,e 1.2⫻ 108 cm/ s 1.1⫻ 108 cm/ s
estimated in the above manner ceases to account for the ob-
vth,i 1.1⫻ 105 cm/ s 1 ⫻ 105 cm/ s
served vdiff. Curve c in Fig. 14 shows the E ⫻ B velocity
cs 4.3⫻ 105 cm/ s 4.0⫻ 105 cm/ s
estimated using Eq. 共6兲. The values can be seen to provide a
␭mfp,e 40 cm 40 cm
good account of the observed velocity deviation. This obser-
␭mfp,i 40 cm 40 cm
vation gives indications that electron Larmor radius manifest
de 0.8 cm 1 cm
its significant role by accentuating the E ⫻ B effects. By re-
␭D 3.3⫻ 10−3 cm 4 ⫻ 10−3 cm
ducing the field gradients significantly, this characteristic is
responsible for the enhanced field uniformity of the ELB
plasma.
opposing the diamagnetic current. The reduced field gradient
B. The waves generated
is an outcome of the reduced net fluid velocity as per the
relation vresultant = v⵱⫻B = v⵱P-vE⫻B 关as per Eq. 共5兲兴. The electromagnetic mode 共about 50 KHz兲 excited at the
The ELB plasma produced after compensation of the boundary upon the application of the trigger to the Bz Helm-
existing field possesses enhanced magnetic field uniformity. holtz coil possesses axial velocity ⬇4 ⫻ 106 cm/ s, when
This is a result of the much reduced value of the net azi- measured at the radial center. Radially the propagation is
muthal current. In other words, there is a significant differ- found to have a dependence on the prevailing magnetic field
ence between the vresultant and v⵱P, not accounted for by the and density values. The axial and radial velocity obtained
value of vE⫻B as expected from Eq. 共5兲. In order to under- agrees well with parallel and perpendicular components of a

FIG. 11. Temporal evolution of the

electromagnetic and electrostatic
modes generated.

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 092503-10 Banerjee et al.
Whistler wave17 propagating at an angle ⬃10° with respect
to the z axis. The applied trigger 共rise time =300 ␮s兲 has its
substantial part of the power distributed in the range 100 to
1000 Hz, and does not exhibit any observable power cou-
pling at higher frequencies 共50 KHz兲. The Bz signal is, how-
ever, very weak 共about 10% of the existing field兲. Its excita-
tion coincides with the abrupt jump of trigger current 共at t
FIG. 13. Radial propagation of the Is 共a兲 and Ie 共b兲 perturbations.
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Phys. Plasmas 13, 092503 共2006兲
FIG. 12. Axial 共A兲 and radial 共B兲
propagation of the magnetic field
perturbation.
= 0兲. It is possible that a weak coupling to high frequency
共⬃50 KHz兲 exists below detection limit, corresponding to
the start of the pulse.
The perturbation excited about 500 ␮s after application
of the trigger to Helmholtz pulse, shown in Fig. 12, is clearly
electrostatic as there is no associated magnetic field pertur-
bation. This mode is found to propagate across Bo, with no
parallel velocity component.
Figure 15 depicts the instantaneous spatial profiles at
different temporal points assigned to each curve. As shown,
the wavelength of this mode is about 1 m. The frequency
estimated from the relation ␻2 = ⍀2c + k2vs2 for the electrostatic
ion wave18 propagating across Bo gives a value of ⬇3 KHz,
in agreement with the power spectra plotted for this mode
shown in Fig. 16. This corresponds to a wave width of
⬇330 ␮s that agrees reasonably well with our experimental
observation.
As the applied pulse also has significant fraction of
power at these frequencies, it is possible that this electro-
static mode is excited when the trigger is given to the Helm-
holtz coil.
V. CONCLUSIONS
We have devised a technique of producing a large vol-
ume plasma having its beta 共␤兲 as large as ⬃103. Production
of this extremely large beta 共ELB兲 plasma consists of two
steps. In the first step, plasma is produced in a conventional
manner, using a finite dc magnetic field 共B兲 for confinement.
In the next step, the plasma ␤ is increased by reducing B
after the parameters attain a steady state. The reduction in B
 092503-11 A laboratory produced extremely large beta plasma
is achieved by compensating coils. Compensation is effected
over Whistler wave time scale, much faster than collisional
scales. This allows plasma parameters such as ne and Te to
remain unaltered. The ELB plasma thus produced and sus-
tained over ⬇200 ␮s extends over ⬇0.5 m3, has ne ⬇ 4
⫻ 1011 cm−3 and Te ⬇ 8 eV.
The ELB plasma has all the characteristics of a high-␤
共␤ ⬃ 1兲 plasma owing to its EMHD nature having electrons
magnetized, not ions. This is evidenced by the experimental
observations: 共i兲 observation of diamagnetism of plasma, 共ii兲
excitation of E ⫻ B electron currents, and 共iii兲 propagation of
electromagnetic waves. However, the ELB plasma has dis-
tinctly different features compared to high-␤ plasma, attrib-
utable to the very large Larmor radius rLe 共⬇25 cm兲, com-
parable with characteristic scale lengths of electrons. We
observe that the E ⫻ B current gets accentuated by finite elec-
tron Larmor radius 共FELR兲 effects. EMHD waves have dif-
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Phys. Plasmas 13, 092503 共2006兲
FIG. 14. Role of finite electron Lar-
mor radius on the azimuthal currents.
The difference in velocity 共vdiff兲 be-
tween the expected value from pres-
sure gradients 共v⵱ p兲 and observed ve-
locity at three instances shown in Fig.
7 is plotted in curve a. Curves 共b兲 and
共c兲 show the E ⫻ B velocities esti-
mated using relations 共2兲 and 共6兲,
respectively.
ferent propagation characteristics, dispersion and polariza-
tion, compared to their counterparts excited in high-␤
plasma, as will be discussed in a future article.
With the availability of the ELB plasma, new fields of
study are related to understanding of nonlinear behavior of
EMHD structures and some of the physical phenomena in
the space plasma. Earlier studies7 have shown that one way
of inducing nonlinearity in the otherwise robust EMHD
structures is by allowing them to encounter a null point in the
magnetic field. How a null point can influence the behavior
of a large EMHD structure remains poorly understood. One
of the reasons is that null point has a very high magnetic
field gradient 共⬇200 mG/ cm兲 prevailing around. Hence,
magnetization time and spatial scales change very fast
around this point. It is very difficult to diagonize around this
point since probe size can at the most be minimized to a few
millimeters. Now, with the availability of the large volume
FIG. 15. Spatiotemporal profiles gen-
erated for Is perturbations.
 092503-12 Banerjee et al. Phys. Plasmas 13, 092503 共2006兲

FIG. 16. The power spectra obtained

for Is perturbation.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 12, 158 共2003兲.
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G. B. Patel, P. K. Srivastava, L. M. Awasthi et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 73,
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F. F. Chen, Introduction to Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, Plasma
and A. K. Sanyasi for the support provided for this work. Physics Vol. 1 共Plenum, New York, 1974兲, Chap. 4.

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