Plasma confinement experiments in the TMX tandem mirror. Paper IAEA-CN-38/F-1

Results from the new Tandem Mirror Experiment (TMX) are described. Tandem-mirror density and potential profiles are produced using end-plug neutral-beam injection and central-cell gas-fueling. TMX parameters are near those predicted theoretically. The end-plug electron temperature is higher than in the comparably sized single-mirror 2XIIB. Axial confinement of the finite-beta central-cell plasma is improved by the end plugs by as much as a factor of 9. In TMX, end-plug microinstability limits central-cell confinement in agreement with theory