Laboratory investigation of plasma jet interaction with transverse magnetic field Original Research Article

Laboratory experiments are carried out to investigate the evolution of a plasma jet injected transverse to the magnetic field. Special conditions are created for field-aligned current closure. The velocity of the jet is about 25 km/sec. The plasma density is equal to 1014–1015 cm−3. Two stages of the plasma jet propagation are observed. In the first stage the magnetic field expulsion is detected. At the second stage deceleration and deflection of the plasma jet due to field-aligned currents are investigated. The influence of the conductivity of an artificial ionosphere on the plasma jet dynamics is shown. Equations describing plasma jet propagation under conditions of effective field-aligned current closure are obtained. The role of the Hall current for the plasma jet dynamics is discussed.