Generation of polarized shear Alfvén waves by a rotating magnetic field source

A. Gigliotti, W. Gekelman, P. Pribyl, S. Vincena, A. Karavaev, X. Shao, A. Surjalal Sharma, and D. Papadopoulos

Experiments are performed in the Large Plasma Device at the University of California, Los Angeles to study the propagation of field-aligned, polarized kinetic shear Alfvén waves radiated from a rotating magnetic field source created via a novel phased orthogonal loop antenna.  Evidence of electron heating and ionization is observed during the pulse.

Phys. Plasmas 16, 092106 (2009)

Transverse oscillations in a single-layer dusty plasma under microgravity

Bin Liu, J. Goree, V. E. Fortov, A. M. Lipaev, V. I. Molotkov, O. F. Petrov, G. E. Morfill, H. M. Thomas, H. Rothermel, and A. V. Ivlev

A single-layer suspension of microparticles was formed in a plasma under microgravity conditions. This single layer is confined at a void boundary by a balance of ion drag and electric forces, where the ion flow velocity is much slower than in the sheath of laboratory plasmas.

Phys. Plasmas 16, 083703  (2009) | Multimedia

Reconnection in semicollisional, low-β plasmas

S. Schmidt, S. Günter, and K. Lackner

Reconnection of semicollisional, low-β plasmas is studied numerically for two model problems using a two-field description of the plasma including electron pressure effects (and hence kinetic Alfvén-wave dynamics).

Phys. Plasmas 16, 072302 (2009)