Profile consistency in equilibria of field-reversed configurations

• DOI: 10.1063/1.860262
• Publication Date: 2002-07-26T12:29:57Z
• Authors: Loren C. Steinhauer; Akio Ishida
• Keywords: 0103 physical sciences; 01 natural sciences; Field-reversed configuration

Experimental evidence is presented for a regulatory principle governing field-reversed configuration (FRC) equilibria. This leads to a form of ‘profile consistency’ with which the current profile exhibits a remarkable correlation with xs (the ratio of the separatrix radius to the coil radius). The proposed explanation is that these equilibria are regulated by an instability which maintains the profile at a marginally stable condition.