Compact toroid challenge experiment with the increasing in the energy input into plasma and the level of trapped magnetic field

• Compact torus formation method with high level of magnetic flux is proposed.
• A compact torus is produced in a theta-pinch-coil with pulse mode of operation.
• Key feature is a pulse of current in an axial direction.
• We report a level of linked magnetic flux is higher than theta-pinch results.

The present work reports on compact toroid hydrogen plasma creation by means of a specially designed discharge system and results of magnetic fields introduction. Experiments in the compact toroid challenge (CTC) device at P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute (FIAN) have been conducted since 2005. The CTC device differs from the conventional theta-pinch formation in the use of an axial current for enhanced efficiency. We have used a novel technique to maximize the flux linked to the plasma. The purpose of this method is to increase the energy input into the plasma and the level of trapped magnetic flux using an additional toroidal magnetic field. A study of compact torus formation with axial and toroidal currents was done and a new method is proposed and implemented.