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The Z machine is a current driver producing up to 30 MA in 100 ns that utilizes a wide range of diagnostics to assess accelerator performance and target behavior conduct experiments that use the Z target as a source of radiation or high pressures. Here, we review the existing suite of diagnostic systems, including their locations and primary configurations. The diagnostics are grouped in the following categories: pulsed power diagnostics, x-ray power and energy, x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray imaging (including backlighting, power flow, and velocimetry), and nuclear detectors (including neutron activation). We will also briefly summarize the primary imaging detectors we usemore » at Z: image plates, x-ray and visible film, microchannel plates, and the ultrafast x-ray imager. The Z shot produces a harsh environment that interferes with diagnostic operation and data retrieval. We term these detrimental processes “threats” of which only partial quantifications and precise sources are known. Finally, we summarize the threats and describe techniques utilized in many of the systems to reduce noise and backgrounds.« less

The objectives of this tutorial are as follows: (1) to help students and researchers develop a basic understanding of how pulsed-power systems are used to create high-energydensity matter; (2) to develop a basic understanding of a new, compact, and efficient pulsed-power technology called Linear Transformer Drivers (LTDs); (3) to understand why LTDs are an attractive technology for driving HEDP experiments; (4) to contrast LTDs with the more traditional Marx-generator/pulseforming- line approach to driving HEDP experiments; and (5) to briefly review the history of LTD technology as well as some of the LTD-driven HEDP research presently underway at universities and researchmore » laboratories across the globe. This invited tutorial is part of the Mini-Course on Charged Particle Beams and High-Powered Pulsed Sources, held in conjunction with the 44th International Conference on Plasma Science in May of 2017.« less

Here, we present experimental results on axially magnetized (B_z = 0.5 – 2.0 T), thin-foil (400 nm-thick) cylindrical liner-plasmas driven with ~600 kA by the Michigan Accelerator for Inductive Z-Pinch Experiments, which is a linear transformer driver at the University of Michigan. We show that: (1) the applied axial magnetic field, irrespective of its direction (e.g., parallel or anti-parallel to the flow of current), reduces the instability amplitude for pure magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modes [defined as modes devoid of the acceleration-driven magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instability]; (2) axially magnetized, imploding liners (where MHD modes couple to MRT) generate m = 1 or mmore » = 2 helical modes that persist from the implosion to the subsequent explosion stage; (3) the merging of instability structures is a mechanism that enables the appearance of an exponential instability growth rate for a longer than expected time-period; and (4) an inverse cascade in both the axial and azimuthal wavenumbers, k and m, may be responsible for the final m = 2 helical structure observed in our experiments. Laslty, these experiments are particularly relevant to the magnetized liner inertial fusion program pursued at Sandia National Laboratories, where helical instabilities have been observed.« less

Presented are the results from the liner ablation experiments conducted at 550 kA on the Michigan Accelerator for Inductive Z-Pinch Experiments. These experiments were performed to evaluate a hypothesis that the electrothermal instability (ETI) is responsible for the seeding of magnetohydrodynamic instabilities and that the cumulative growth of ETI is primarily dependent on the material-specific ratio of critical temperature to melting temperature. This ratio is lower in refractory metals (e.g., tantalum) than in non-refractory metals (e.g., aluminum or titanium). The experimental observations presented herein reveal that the plasma-vacuum interface is remarkably stable in tantalum liner ablations. This stability is particularlymore » evident when contrasted with the observations from aluminum and titanium experiments. These results are important to various programs in pulsed-power-driven plasma physics that depend on liner implosion stability. Furthermore, examples include the magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) program and the cylindrical dynamic material properties program at Sandia National Laboratories, where liner experiments are conducted on the 27-MA Z facility.« less

Discrete helical modes have been experimentally observed from implosion to explosion in cylindrical, axially magnetized ultrathin foils (B_z = 0.2 - 2.0 T) using visible self-emission and laser shadowgraphy. The striation angle of the helices, phi, was found to increase during the implosion and decrease during the explosion, despite the large azimuthal magnetic field (>40 T). Here, these helical striations are interpreted as discrete, non-axisymmetric eigenmodes that persist from implosion to explosion, obeying the simple relation $$\phi$$ = m/kR, where m, k, and R are the azimuthal mode number, axial wavenumber, and radius, respectively. Experimentally, we found that (a) theremore » is only one, or at the most two, dominant unstable eigenmode, (b) there does not appear to be a sharp threshold on the axial magnetic field for the emergence of the non-axisymmetric helical modes, and (c) higher axial magnetic fields yield higher azimuthal modes.« less