A permanent magnet has a D-shaped cross section including an arcuate top surface (22), a flat bottom surface (24), and side surfaces (26, 28). Provided that a plurality of permanent magnets are circumferentially arranged so that a great circle (S) circumscribes the apexes (P) on the arcuate top surfaces (22), the top surface (22) includes a central region which delineates an arc of a small circle (T) off-centered from the great circle, and end regions (22a, 22b) which are positioned outside the small circle (T) and inside the great circle (S).