Holographic interferometry study of two-fluid properties of the plasma in current sheets formed in heavy noble gases

Abstract

Two-exposure holographic interferometry was used to study the structure of current sheets formed in three-dimensional magnetic configurations with a singular X line in heavy noble gases (Ar, Kr, and Xe). It is found that, in the presence of a longitudinal magnetic field B Z directed along the X line, plasma sheets take on an unusual shape: they are titled and asymmetric. Their asymmetry becomes more pronounced as the mass of a plasma ion increases—a manifestation of the two-fluid properties of the plasma. The observed effects can be attributed to additional forces arising due to the interaction of the longitudinal magnetic field B Z with Hall currents excited in a plane perpendicular to the X line. A qualitative model describing plasma dynamics with allowance for the Hall effect and accounting for most of the experimentally observed effects is proposed.