Overview of Wisconsin Plasma Physics Laboratory Research

The Wisconsin Plasma Physics Laboratory (WiPPL) is a multi-device collaborative research facility supporting a wide range of both internally and externally led experiments in basic, astrophysical, and fusion plasma science. Here we present an overview of WiPPL capabilities, recent and ongoing projects, and key WiPPL-led results. Recent work on MST has focused on the variety of unique tokamak regimes made possible by inductive control of the loop voltage with a new programmable power supply system. Locked, helical structures are observed in ultra-low-safety factor plasmas, as well as anomalous heating of impurity ions. In low density tokamak plasmas, runaway electrons interact with whistler waves, leading to bursty x-ray and magnetic probe spectra. Characterization of high density plasmas exceeding the Greenwald limit is ongoing. In addition, a compact toroid injection system to study ion heating and energy transfer is in development. On the BRB, experiments injecting a magnetically driven jet into a background plasma have concluded. The 3D reconnection structure of a supersonic wind impinging on a dipole magnetic field was also studied. Currently, the BRB is in a configuration to investigate the development of electron pressure anisotropy during collisionless magnetic reconnection utilizing a new cylindrical drive system, as well as the dynamics of magnetic nulls that develop. Ongoing work includes development of a system to drive a rotating magnetic dipole to generate an outgoing plasma wind.