Large-scale structuring of a rotating plasma due to plasma macroinstabilities

The formation of coherent structures during plasma macroinstabilities have been of interest in view of the nonlinear plasma physics. In the present paper, we have investigated in detail, the mechanism and specific features of large-scale structuring of a rotating plasma. In the case of weak magnetic field, the plasma ejected from a plasma gun has a high beta value (β > 1) so that it expands rapidly across the magnetic field excluding a magnetic flux from its interior. Then, the boundary between the expanding plasma and the magnetic field becomes unstable against Rayleigh-Taylor instability. This instability has the higher growth rate at the shorter wavelength and the mode appears as flute. These features of the instability are confirmed by the observation of radial plasma jets with the azimuthal mode number m=20-40 in the early time of the plasma expansion. In the case of strong magnetic field, on the other hand, the plasma little expands and rotates at two times the ion sound speed. Especially, we observe spiral jets of m=2 instead of short-wavelength radial jets. This mode appears only when a glass target is installed or a dense neutral gas is introduced around the plasma to give the plasma a frictional force. From these results and with reference to the theory of plasma instabilities, the centrifugal instability caused by a combination of the velocity shear and centrifugal force is concluded to be responsible for the formation of spiral jets. (author)