Increased x-ray power generated from low-mass large-number aluminum-wire-array Z-pinch implosions
- Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)
- Naval Research Laboratory, Pulsed Power Physics Branch, Washington, DC 20375 (United States)
- University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131 (United States)
A Saturn accelerator study of annular, aluminum-wire-array, Z-pinch implosions in the calculated high-wire-number plasma-shell regime [Phys. Rev. Lett. {bold 77}, 5063 (1996)] shows that a factor of 2 decrease in pulse width and an associated doubling of the total radiated x-ray power occurs when the mass of 12 mm radius, 2 cm long array is reduced from above 1.9 mg to below 1.3 mg. The study utilized extensive time- and space-resolved measurements to characterize the implosion over the mass range 0.42{endash}3.4 mg. Eulerian radiation-magnetohydrodynamic-code simulations in the r-z plane agree qualitatively with the measurements. They suggest that the pulse-width decrease with mass is due to the faster implosion velocity of the plasma shell relative to the growth of the shell thickness that arises from a two-stage development of the magnetic Rayleigh{endash}Taylor instability. Over the bulk of the mass-range explored, the variation in {ital K}-shell (lines plus free-bound continuum) yield is in qualitative agreement with simple {ital K}-shell radiation-scaling models. These models indicate that the doubling of the measured {ital K}-shell yield, which also occurs for masses below 1.3 mg relative to masses above 1.9 mg, arises from increased plasma temperature. {copyright} {ital 1998 American Institute of Physics.}
- OSTI ID:
- 658491
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 5; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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