Ion Heating Due to Rotation and Collision in Magnetized Plasma

The $\mathbf{E}\times \mathbf{B}$ rotation and associated collisional ion heating of noble-gas magnetized plasmas are investigated with high resolution by means of laser-induced fluorescence and electrical probes. Plasma rotation results from a radial potential gradient which can be controlled by biasing of the discharge electrodes. The time and space evolution of the potential, the rotation velocity $v_{\theta }$, and the ion perpendicular temperature indicate that heating is due to the randomization of $v_{\theta }$ by ionneutral collisions, and leads to temperature increases as high as a factor fo 50 over initial values.