Overview of Research Using the Basic Plasma Science Facility at UCLA

The Basic Plasma Science Facility at UCLA is a national user facility for studies of fundamental processes in magnetized plasmas. The centerpiece is the Large Plasma Device, a 20 m, magnetized linear plasma device. Two hot cathode plasma sources are available. This opens up opportunities for investigating processes relevant to the solar wind and astrophysical plasmas. Potential studies include: dispersion and damping of kinetic Alfvén waves nonlinear interactions among Alfvén waves and Alfvénic turbulence, and mirror and firehose Instabilities.
Troy Carter is Professor of Physics at UCLA, where he is Director of the Basic Plasma Science Facility. He received B.S. degrees in Physics and Nuclear Engineering from North Carolina State University in 1995 and was awarded his PhD in 2001 in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University. He was a co-winner of the 2002 APS John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research for his studies of turbulence and its role in magnetic reconnection. His current research focuses on waves, instabilities, turbulence and transport in magnetized plasmas, making use of fundamental plasma devices such as LAPD as well as magnetic fusion experiments such as the DIII-D tokamak. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.