This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
The primary focus of this theory program is on pure electron plasmas, in particular the properties of low density electron plasma equilibria. The theories developed are now being tested in several devices, not only on the Columbia Nonneutral Torus (CNT) but also on two devices in Japan. Some of the key predictions from theory have been experimentally verified, but many phenomena in CNT are still inadequately understood. The existing computational tools will be refined and applied in preparation for the next phase of the experiment, the creation of electron-positron plasmas.
The development of an understanding of non-neutral plasmas confined on magnetic surfaces will be a valuable addition to basic plasma physics. It is also important for the future electron-positron (pair) plasma experiments. Electron-positron plasmas are theoretically the simplest quasi-neutral plasmas that one can study, and hence, a pair plasma experiment would provide a stringent test of our understanding of basic plasma physics.
The proposed program supports one doctoral student, and it involves substantial participation by undergraduate students as well as high school students, and will continue to do so in the future.
