axisymmetric tandem mirror device are experimentally studied. Plasma produced in the end mirror device (end
cell) has an electron temperature of ~ 50 eV, an ion energy of ~ 200 eV, and an average density of 6
1012 cm–3. Aplasma jet generated by the annular arc gas-discharge source and located behind the magnetic mirror is used
to produce the initial plasma. Electrostatic fluctuations with a broad spectrum occurring in the plasma jet cause
stochastic ion heating and subsequent heating of electrons. The most decisive factor in creating the hot initial
plasma in the end cell is the thermal insulation, which suppresses the electron heat exchange between the end
cell and the transport region. The studies performed show that, at both the plasma periphery and the axis, elec-
tron thermal insulation is provided by a plasma potential that has a minimum at the input mirror, whereas, in
the intermediate region around the axis, the heat transport from the end mirror device is almost absent because
of the high average velocity of the electron flow in the input mirror of the device. It is discovered that a 1 kA
longitudinal flow of transit electrons provides effective electron heating in the end mirror device. Low-fre-
quency plasma turbulence spectra are studied, the diffusion coefficients related to the electrostatic and magnetic
transverse transport are determined, and the longitudinal losses of particles and energy are measured. The initial
plasma produced is MHD stable in both the filling and decay stages. It is shown that the accumulation rate of
trapped fast protons during the pulse injection of powerful beams of fast neutrals is sufficiently high.