MHD instability and magnetized reconnection study and its application to ion heating in adiabatic compression at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

We present the progress of an MHD instability and magnetic reconnection experiment being utilized for adiabatic compression. This work is to achieve the high efficiency of ion heating in the context of fusion research. The experiments have been performed using Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU)'s co-planar plasma gun. Various diagnostic methods such as Thomson scattering, an interferometer, a B-dot probe, and ion-Doppler broadening spectroscopy are being developed to quantitatively study ion heating preheated by MHD instabilities and magnetic reconnection in adiabatic compression. Invaluable discussion and input are highly desired.