A novel field reversed configuration (FRC) axial compression experiment with high-speed translated θ-pinch plasma was conducted in the Keda Mirror with AXisymmetry device. The translated north FRC was decelerated and compressed by an oncoming θ-pinch plasma stream, and the dynamic process was revealed by a 2D magnetic probe array. The FRC separatrix length is compressed to one-third of the initial value while the radius expands by ∼57%, resulting in the ∼16% increase in the electron temperature and ∼26% in the density, which matches the calculation from an adiabatic compression model. The good agreement is explained by the fast compression and particle supplementation owing to the compression with plasma. The results reported in this work may contribute to the understanding of electron heating in collision-merged FRC and provide a new compression method for the magneto-inertial fusion concept.
First direct experimental evidence of the merging of two colliding field reversed configurations