title: Plasma blob generation due to cooperative elliptic instability.
abstract: Using fast-camera measurements the generation mechanism of plasma blobs is investigated in the linear device CSDX. During the ejection of plasma blobs the plasma is dominated by an m=1 mode, which is a counterrotating vortex pair. These flows are known to be subject to the cooperative elliptic instability, which is characterized by a cooperative disturbance of the vortex cores and results in a three-dimensional breakdown of two-dimensional flows. The first experimental evidence of a cooperative elliptic instability preceding the blob-ejection is provided in terms of the qualitative evolution of the vortex geometries and internal wave patterns.
authors.affiliation: Center for Momentum Transport and Flow Organization, University of California at San Diego, San Diego, California 92093, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Manz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fedorczak
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Thakur
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Tynan