Spontaneous formation of a plasma hole in a rotating magnetized plasma: a giant burgers vortex in a compressible fluid.
Spontaneous formation of a cylindrical density cavity, or "plasma hole," has been observed in a rotating magnetized plasma. Density of the plasma hole is one-tenth of that of ambient plasma and is bounded by a steep transition layer of the order of several ion Larmor radii. The flow velocity field associated with the plasma hole is experimentally determined, exhibiting a monopole vortical structure. It is found that the vorticity distribution is localized near the center of the hole and is identified as a Burgers vortex. This is the first experimental observation of a Burgers vortex in a plasma.
Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Japan.
Kenichi
K
Nagaoka
Atsushi
A
Okamoto
Shinji
S
Yoshimura
Mitsuo
M
Kono
Masayoshi Y
MY
Tanaka