Furno I, Intrator T P, Ryutov D D, Abbate S, Madziwa-Nussinov T, Light A, Dorf L, Lapenta G
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Mail Stop E526, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
Phys Rev Lett. 2006 Jul 7;97(1):015002. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.015002.
First experimental measurements are presented for the kink instability in a linear plasma column which is insulated from an axial boundary by finite sheath resistivity. An instability threshold below the classical Kruskal-Shafranov threshold, axially asymmetric mode structure, and rotation are observed. These are accurately reproduced by a recent kink theory, which includes axial plasma flow and one end of the plasma column that is free to move due to a non-line-tied boundary condition.
