1-D Modeling Of The Screw-Pinch Plasma In Proto-Sphera

A simple steady-state model for a 3-species mixture (ions, electrons, and neutrals) in a screw-pinch plasma configuration is developed. The model is applied to the central plasma column of the PROTO-SPHERA experiment. Degree of ionization, azimuthal current density, and azimuthal ion velocity are calculated. Full ionization is found at plasma temperatures above 1.5 eV, with neutrals confined in an outer shell where radial plasma flow develops and drives both azimuthal current and azimuthal flow.