Shear Flow Stabilization of a z-Pinch Plasma in the Presence of a Radial Temperature Gradient

TL;DR

This paper investigates how shear flow and the thermomagnetic Nernst effect influence the stabilization of a z-pinch plasma with temperature gradients, revealing conditions under which instability can be suppressed.

Contribution

It extends previous shear flow stabilization studies to non-constant temperature plasmas, incorporating the thermomagnetic Nernst effect and providing exact solutions for z-pinch stability.

Findings

Supersonic shear flow stabilizes the plasma

Thermomagnetic Nernst effect impacts stabilization

Exact solutions for z-pinch stability provided

Abstract

The previous study regarding the stabilization of a magnetized constant temperature plasma by shear flow with vorticity is extended to a plasma of non-constant temperature, where in the presence of heat source or sinks the thermomagnetic Nernst effect becomes important. Of special interest is what this effect has on the stabilization of a linear z-pinch discharge for which exact solutions are given. Solutions which are unstable for subsonic shear flow become stable if the flow is supersonic.