Spontaneous Fluctuations of a Temperature Filament in a Magnetized Plasma

This experiment illustrates the spatiotemporal pattern of the fluctuations that spontaneously develop in a magnetized temperature filament whose transverse scale is comparable to the electron skin depth. A high-frequency mode exhibits a striking spiral structure and is identified as a drift-Alfven eigenmode. A low-frequency mode is found to be localized near the center of the filament. It is documented that the fluctuations significantly increase the transport of heat beyond the prediction of classical theory based on Coulomb collisions.