DETERMINATION OF THE ION VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION IN A ROTATING PLASMA FROM MEASUREMENTS OF DOPPLER BROADENING

The Doppler-broadened profile of the He II 4685.75 AA line was measured along a chord in a rotating plasma, transverse to the magnetic field. Using a single-particle orbit picture, the corresponding velocity spectrum of ions confirm the measurements, so it can be concluded that the single-particle orbit picture is valid for the discharge period under investigation, except for the first few microseconds during breakdown when a strong interaction between plasma and remaining neutral gas takes place by Alfvens critical velocity mechanism. A simple relation is given between the measured half-width and shift of the Doppler profile and the macroscopic quantities of ion velocity and energy. Several Doppler-broadened profiles are shown for different plasma parameters.