Supersonic Radiatively Cooled Rotating Flows and Jets in the Laboratory

Journal Article · Fri Jan 25 00:00:00 EST 2008 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.100.035001· OSTI ID:21020978

Ampleford, D J; Jennings, C A ^[1]; Lebedev, S V; Bland, S N; Bott, S C; Hall, G N; Naz, N; Chittenden, J P; Palmer, J B. A. ^[2]; Ciardi, A ^[3]; Sherlock, M ^[4]; Frank, A; Blackman, E ^[5]

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1. Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123-1106 (United States)
2. Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BW (United Kingdom)
3. Observatoire de Paris, LERMA, Meudon, 92195 (France)
4. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX (United Kingdom)
5. Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627 (United States)

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 {approx}18% of the propagation velocity.

• OSTI ID: 21020978
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 100, Issue 3; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.035001; (c) 2008 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
ASTROPHYSICS
COLLISIONS
PLASMA
PLASMA JETS
WIRES