Measurements of the MHD dynamo in the quasi-single-helicity reversed-field pinch

The first experimental study of the MHD dynamo in a quasi-single-helicity (QSH) reversed-field pinch toroidal plasma is presented. In QSH plasmas, a dominant wave number appears in the velocity fluctuation spectrum. This velocity component extends throughout the plasma volume and couples with magnetic fluctuations to produce a significant MHD dynamo electric field. The narrowing of the velocity fluctuation spectrum and the single-mode character of the dynamo are features predicted by theory and computation, but only now are observed in experiment.