Improved confinement region without large magnetohydrodynamic activity in TPE-RX reversed-field pinch plasma

Abstract

We found that spontaneous improved confinement was brought about depending on the operating region in the Toroidal Pinch Experiment-Reversed eXperiment (TPE-RX) reversed-field pinch plasma [Y. Yagi et al., Fusion Eng. Des. 45, 421 (1999)]. Gradual decay of the toroidal magnetic field at plasma surface Btw reversal makes it possible to realize a prolonged discharge, and the poloidal beta value and energy confinement time increase in the latter half of the discharge, where reversal and pinch parameters become shallow and low, respectively. In the latter half of the discharge, the plasma current and volume-averaged toroidal magnetic field 〈Bt〉 increase again, the electron density slowly decays, the electron temperature and soft X-ray radiation intensity increase, and the magnetic fluctuations are markedly reduced. In this period of improved confinement, the value of (〈Bt〉-Btw)/Bpw, where Bpw is the poloidal magnetic field at the plasma surface, stays almost constant, which indicates that the dynamo action occurs without large magnetohydrodynamic activities.