Experimental verification of the dielectric constant of a magnetized rotating plasma

Direct measurements confirm that the magnetized plasma perpendicular dielectric constant has a linear dependence on the plasma density for fixed magnetic field, as predicted by magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) theory. In experiments performed on the Maryland Centrifugal Experiment (MCX) [R. F. Ellis, A. B. Hassam, S. Messer, and B. R. Osborn, Phys. Plasmas, 8, 2057 (2001)], line-averaged hydrogen plasma electron density is measured using a Mach–Zehnder interferometer. For small rotational Alfven Mach numbers, the measured size of the perpendicular plasma dielectric constant is also in agreement with MHD theory. Plasma density in the range of ( 1 – 8 ) × 10 20 m − 3 and relative perpendicular plasma dielectric constant of the order of 10 6 are measured.