Anomalous cross-field currents in a CIV laboratory experiment

Abstract The axial and radial ion velocities and the electron radial velocity are determined in coaxial plasma gun operated under critical velocity conditions. The particle velocities are determined from probe measurements together with He I 3889 A absolute intensity measurements and the consideration of the total momentum balance of the current sheet. The ions are found to move axially and the electrons radially much faster than predicted by the E/B drift in the macroscopic fields. These results agree with what can be expected from the instability processes, which has earlier been proposed to operate in these experiments. The experiment is therefore a direct experimental demonstration that instability processes have to be invoked not only for the electron heating, but also to explain the macroscopic velocities and currents.