Overview of the Basic Plasma Science Facility

The Basic Plasma Science Facility (BaPSF) at UCLA serves as a national collaborative research center for studying fundamental processes in magnetized plasmas. The facility currently hosts 12 external user groups from different institutions across the world. The centerpiece of the facility is the Large Plasma Device (LAPD), a 20-meter-long magnetized linear plasma device. LAPD has been utilized to investigate a host of fundamental processes such as collisionless shocks, magnetic reconnection, Alfvén waves physics, turbulence and transport, interaction of energetic particles with plasma waves…A new plasma source, installed in 2021, utilizes a large area LaB6 cathode. It is housed in a new chamber with a B field up to 0.8T; used to control the plasma diameter. The 20-meter-long column's magnets are controlled by 10 independent power supplies, allowing various field configurations with on-axis magnetic fields up to 2 kG. With new pulsed gas fueling methods and additional pumping, the LAPD is able to provide plasmas of density as high as 5X10¹³ cm^-3 and temperatures of Te < 15eV and Ti < 5eV. Diagnostics available at the facility include microwave interferometers, Thomson scattering, optical spectrometers, and a wide range of probes with the capability of mapping plasma parameters in 3-dimensional space and time. An overview of recent research conducted at the facility will be provided, along with a discussion of future plans, including an upcoming call for experimental runtime proposals on LAPD.