Transport of the ion bounced by the plug potential caused by radial electric field in the tandem mirror

In the tandem mirror, plug potentials are created in the plug/barrier cells by microwave injection, and also anchor cells with a minimum B magnetic field configuration are installed in order to reduce the MHD instability. Existence of the ion bounced by the plug potential (PP-bounced ion) is essential for the ion confinement in the tandem mirror. We study the transport of the PP-bounced ion on the assumption that the cross-sectional shape of the magnetic flux tube is slightly different from the cross-sectional shape of the equi-potential surface at the mirror throats of the anchor cell as small deviation from the equilibrium state. The radial-potential profile of the core plasma is adjusted by controlling the electrostatic potentials of the coaxially separated end plates. We find that the spread type of radial-potential profile is effective for the confinement of the plug-potential-bounced ion.Presented at the Workshop Electric Fields Structures and Relaxation in Edge Plasmas, Nice, France, October 26–27, 2004.