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The paper presents experimental results from the SMOLA device, which was built in the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics for the verification of the helical mirror confinement idea. This concept involves active control of axial losses from the confinement zone in an open magnetic trap through the use of multiple mirrors that move in the plasma frame of reference. The discussed experiments focused on determining the cumulative effect of a helical mirror system in combination with a short segment of a stronger magnetic field. Combination of these two methods of axial flow suppression results in higher efficiency compared with each method individually. Different combinations of the mirrors were tested. The most effective flow suppression was observed if the short mirror was placed between the confinement region and the helical mirror. In this configuration, an effective mirror ratio of $R_{{\rm eff}} = 32.6\pm 7.8$
was achieved, along with a more than three-fold increase in plasma density within the confinement region. The possibility of a cumulative effect of different types of magnetic mirrors offers a way to improve the confinement performance of the reactor-grade mirror confinement devices.
The paper presents experimental results from the SMOLA device on the testing of the helical mirror confinement hypothesis. Helical mirror confinement is the technique of an active control of axial plasma losses from a confinement zone by multiple magnetic mirrors that move along the axis in the reference frame of the plasma that experiences $\boldsymbol{E} \times \boldsymbol{B}$
rotation due to an applied radial electric field. Theory predicts that a helical mirror will provide an axial force that modifies the plasma flow and, simultaneously, density pinching to the axis. The force direction depends on the plasma rotation direction. Experimental data on the axial plasma losses at different direction of the magnetic mirror movement are presented. If the trapped ions move in the direction opposite to the direction of the axial losses, then the particle flux reduces in the broad range of the plasma density. The confinement improves with the increase of the fraction of the trapped particles (effective mirror ratio was up to $R_{{\rm eff}}=5.8\pm 1.4$
). If the trapped ions move in the same direction as the axial losses, then the flux depends on density. At intermediate densities, the integral flux through the transport section rises compared to the plasma flowing through the straight magnetic field. The effective mirror ratio is lower and does not significantly depend on the fraction of the trapped particles (effective mirror ratio at intermediate density was $R_{{\rm eff}}=3.3\pm 0.8$
).
The paper presents experimental results from the SMOLA device that is the first facility with a helical mirror section of the magnetic system. This device was built in the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics for the verification of the helical mirror confinement idea that is the technique of an active control of axial losses from a confinement zone. Theory predicts that, with rotating plasma, a helical mirror will provide suppression of the axial plasma flow and, simultaneously, density pinching to the axis. Experiments demonstrated the increase in plasma density in the entrance trap by a factor of 1.6 in the helical configuration. The integral axial flux from the transport section drops severalfold. The effective mirror ratio of the helical section was $R_{eff} > 10$
. Particle flux returning by the helical mirror section towards the confinement zone was observed. At high corrugation ratios, the axial flux direction is different at the magnetic axis and in the periphery of the plasma in the helical section. All axial fluxes scale linearly with the plasma density, even if the ion mean free path is comparable to the total length of the helical section. Good agreement of the experimental results with theoretical predictions is found.
This paper is devoted to an experimental investigation of the distributed receptivity of a laminar swept-wing boundary layer to unsteady freestream vortices with streamwise orientation of the vorticity vector. The experiments were performed on a model of a swept wing with a sweep angle of 
$25^{\circ }$ at fully controlled disturbance conditions with freestream vortices generated by a special disturbance source. It is found that the unsteady streamwise vortices are able to provide very efficient excitation of cross-flow instability modes without requiring the presence of any surface non-uniformities. The developed experimental approach is shown to allow us to perform a detailed quantitative investigation of the mechanism of distributed excitation of unsteady boundary-layer disturbances due to scattering of freestream vortices on natural base-flow non-uniformity. This mechanism has been studied experimentally in detail. Part 1 of the present investigation (Borodulin et al., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 908, 2021, A14) was devoted to the description of the experimental approach and the base-flow structure, the method of excitation of fully controlled streamwise-elongated freestream vortices, the results of measurements of structure of these vortices and the experimental evidence of high efficiency of the distributed vortex receptivity mechanism under study. Meanwhile, the present paper (Part 2) is devoted to: (a) theoretical background and definition of the distributed receptivity coefficients and (b) obtaining experimental quantitative characteristics of the distributed vortex receptivity including values of the corresponding receptivity coefficients for their three different definitions as functions of the disturbance frequency, spanwise wavenumber and wave propagation angle.
The paper is devoted to an experimental investigation of distributed receptivity of a laminar swept-wing boundary layer to unsteady freestream vortices with streamwise orientation of the vorticity vector. The experiments were performed on a model of a swept wing with sweep angle of 
$25^{\circ }$ at fully controlled disturbance conditions with freestream vortices generated by a special disturbance source. It is found that the unsteady streamwise vortices are able to provide very efficient excitation of non-stationary cross-flow instability modes without the necessity of the presence of any surface non-uniformities. The developed experimental approach provides the possibility for a detailed quantitative investigation of the mechanism of distributed excitation of unsteady boundary-layer disturbances due to scattering of freestream vortices on natural base-flow non-uniformity. This mechanism has been studied experimentally in detail. This paper (Part 1 of the present study) is devoted to description of: (a) the experimental approach and the base-flow structure; (b) the method of excitation of fully controlled streamwise-elongated freestream vortices; (c) the results of measurements of structure of these vortices; and (d) the experimental evidence of high efficiency of the distributed vortex receptivity mechanism under study. Part 2 of this study (see Borodulin et al., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 908, 2021, A15) is devoted to the theoretical background and experimental quantitative characteristics of the distributed vortex receptivity. Values of the corresponding receptivity coefficients are estimated there for their three different definitions as functions of the disturbance frequency, spanwise wavenumber and wave propagation angle.
