J. B. A. Palmer

Extreme ultraviolet imaging of wire array z-pinch experiments

A multi-frame extreme ultraviolet imaging system based on four pinhole cameras, each backed by a gated microchannel plate (MCP) detector, was used to analyze plasma formation and dynamics in wire array z-pinch experiments on the MAGPIE generator (1 MA, 240 ns) at Imperial College (London). The use of pinhole size, object, and image distances, and MCP sensitivity to determine the spatial and spectral response of the diagnostic is discussed. A high magnification, high resolution version of the diagnostic has produced important information on wire initiation and plasma ablation in various materials. A low magnification version has allowed direct study of the snowplough sheath during array implosion, and of plasma instabilities during stagnation.

Supersonic Radiatively Cooled Rotating Flows and Jets in the Laboratory

The first laboratory astrophysics experiments to produce a radiatively cooled plasma jet with dynamically significant angular momentum are discussed. A new configuration of wire array z pinch, the twisted conical wire array, is used to produce convergent plasma flows each rotating about the central axis. Collision of the flows produces a standing shock and jet that each have supersonic azimuthal velocities. By varying the twist angle of the array, the rotation velocity of the system can be controlled, with jet rotation velocities reaching approximately 18% of the propagation velocity.

Implosion and stagnation of wire array Z pinches

Detailed measurements of the dynamics of aluminum wire array Z pinches from immediately prior to implosion until stagnation and dissipation on axis are presented. Before implosion, the ∼0.5mm axial modulation seen in earlier laser probing images is observed as ablation on the surface of the wire cores facing away from the array axis. This results in the complete ablation of sections of the wire cores and a redistribution of current at the start of implosion. The dynamics of implosion are then strongly influenced by the number of wires in the array. With only eight wires, discrete snowplough bubbles expand from each wire toward the precursor. There is little, if any, correlation between the bubbles from adjacent wires, and a large temporal spread over which the bubbles arrive at the precursor is observed, along with a long rise time, low power soft x-ray pulse. With 32 or more wires, bubbles from adjacent wires merge close to the array edge to form an imploding sheath. The front edge of the sheath is well ...

Structure of stagnated plasma in aluminum wire array Z pinches

Experiments with aluminum wire array Z pinches have been carried out on the mega-ampere generator for plasma implosion experiments (MAGPIE) at Imperial College London [I. H. Mitchell et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 67, 1533 (1996)]. It has been shown that in these arrays, there are two intense sources of radiation during stagnation; Al XII line emission from a precursor-sized object, and both continuum and Al XIII radiation from bright spots of either significantly higher temperature or density randomly distributed around this object so as to produce a hollow emission profile. Spatially resolved spectra produced by spherically bent crystals were recorded, both time-integrated and time-resolved, and were used to show that these two sources of radiation peak at the same time.

Bow shocks in ablated plasma streams for nested wire array z-pinches: A laboratory astrophysics testbed for radiatively cooled shocks

Astrophysical observations have demonstrated many examples of bow shocks, for example, the head of protostellar jets or supernova remnants passing through the interstellar medium or between discrete clumps in jets. For such systems where supersonic and super-Alfvenic flows and radiative cooling are all important, carefully scaled laboratory experiments can add insight into the physical processes involved. The early stage of a wire array z-pinch implosion consists of the steady ablation of material from fine metallic wires. Ablated material is accelerated toward the array axis by the J×B force. This flow is highly supersonic (M>5) and becomes super-Alfvenic (MA>2). Radiative cooling is significant in this flow and can be controlled by varying the material in the ablated plasma. The introduction of wires as obstructions in this steady flow leads to the formation of bow shocks, which can be used as a laboratory testbed for astrophysical bow shocks. The magnetic field associated with this obstruction wire can be controlled by varying the current through it. Differences in the shock for different cooling rates and different magnetic fields associated with the obstruction will be discussed, along with comparisons of dimensionless parameters in the experiments to astrophysical systems.Astrophysical observations have demonstrated many examples of bow shocks, for example, the head of protostellar jets or supernova remnants passing through the interstellar medium or between discrete clumps in jets. For such systems where supersonic and super-Alfvenic flows and radiative cooling are all important, carefully scaled laboratory experiments can add insight into the physical processes involved. The early stage of a wire array z-pinch implosion consists of the steady ablation of material from fine metallic wires. Ablated material is accelerated toward the array axis by the J×B force. This flow is highly supersonic (M>5) and becomes super-Alfvenic (MA>2). Radiative cooling is significant in this flow and can be controlled by varying the material in the ablated plasma. The introduction of wires as obstructions in this steady flow leads to the formation of bow shocks, which can be used as a laboratory testbed for astrophysical bow shocks. The magnetic field associated with this obstruction wire can...

Effect of Wire Diameter and Addition of an Axial Magnetic Field on the Dynamics of Radial Wire Array

The operation of radial wire array Z-pinches driven by a 1-MA 250-ns current pulse was studied. Variation in the cathode diameter and wire diameter does not affect the overall plasma dynamics but controls the time of wire breakage and the time of pinch formation. The measured times of full wire ablation at the cathode were used to determine the ablation velocity (V abl), and the results give a scaling V abl ~ (wire diameter)-0.46. Experiments with added axial magnetic field show an increase in the pinched plasma diameter, possibly due to the compression of the axial magnetic flux by the imploding plasma.

Z

In order to study wire array Z-pinch instabilities, perturbations have been seeded by etching 15μm diameter aluminum wires to introduce 20% modulations in radius with a controlled axial wavelength. These perturbations seed additional imploding structures that are studied experimentally on the 1MA, 250ns MAGPIE generator [S. V. Lebedev et al., Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 47, A91 (2005)] and with three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic calculations using the ALEGRA-HEDP [A. C. Robinson and C. J. Garasi, Comput. Phys. Commun. 164, 408 (2004)] and GORGON [J. P. Chittenden et al., Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 46, B457 (2004)] codes. Simulations indicate that current path nonuniformity at discontinuities in the wire radius result in perturbation-induced magnetic bubble formation. Imploding bubbles originating from discontinuities are observed experimentally, and their collision on axis determines the start of the main x-ray pulse rise. These mechanisms likely govern dynamics of standard wire array Z pinches, and...

-Pinches

X-pinch radiography was used to analyze the interaction between streams of coronal plasma and on-axis foam targets in wire array z-pinch experiments on the MAGPIE generator (1 MA,240 ns). The implosion of the x-pinch, used in place of a current return conductor to the load, provided a short (<2 s) small (∼5 μm) intense burst of soft x-rays, ideal for point projection backlighting. Timimg of the x-pinch was adjusted via the mass of its wires, allowing us to study the evolution of the foam during the experiment. Choice of the x-pinch materials, filters, and recording film determined the probing radiation, and hence the plasma/foam densities were resolved. Quantitative results will be discussed.

Measurement and modeling of the implosion of wire arrays with seeded instabilities

This paper investigates the ablation of wires in two-wire tungsten X -pinches driven by an 80-kA current over 50 ns. High-resolution imaging using a Nomarski interferometer allows measurements close to the X-pinch cross point, where the ablation ldquoflarerdquo structure is observed to clearly develop during the drive-current rise time. Electron density profiles are recovered as a function of both distance normal to the wire and of time. Results compare favorably to the rocket model of wire ablation. In addition, the density contrast over the ablation ldquostreamrdquo and ldquogaprdquo structure is measured and compared to similar measurements made using quantitative radiography on the 1-MA 250-ns MAGPIE generator at Imperial College London, London, U.K.

Use of X-pinches of diagnose behavior of low density CH foams on axis of wire array Z-pinches

X-pinch radiography data are presented for wire array Z-pinches in which the wires initially have an imposed modulation. Calibrated data indicate a sharp contrast between the initially thicker regions of the wire, which remain intact, and the thinner regions which become fully depleted of material.