Effect of Plasma Flow Velocity Shear on Fluctuation and Structure Formation 3. Effects of Controlled Flow Velocity Shear in Open-Ended Magnetized Plasmas

Abstract

The effects of ion flow velocity shears parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic-field lines, which are precisely controlled by a segmented electrode, are investigated in open-ended magnetized plasmas. The perpendicular flow velocity shears are demonstrated to suppress drift-wave, flute, and ion-cyclotron instabilities. On the other hand, parallel flow velocity shears are observed to destabilize D’Angelo mode, drift-wave, and ion-cyclotron instabilities depending on the sign of the parallel shear. The combined effects of the parallel and perpendicular flow shears will be important for controlling instabilities in magnetized plasmas.