Investigating radiatively driven, magnetised plasmas with a university scale pulsed-power generator

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel experimental platform using a wire array Z-Pinch to generate plasma outflows in strong magnetic fields, enabling studies relevant to inertial confinement fusion, atomic physics, and astrophysics.

Contribution

It demonstrates the first use of a pulsed-power generator to produce controlled, magnetized plasma outflows with well-defined morphology for fundamental physics studies.

Findings

Successful generation of plasma outflows in 5 T magnetic fields

Controlled, quasi-1D plasma morphology observed

Potential applications in ICF and astrophysics research

Abstract

We present first results from a novel experimental platform which is able to access physics relevant to topics including indirect-drive magnetised ICF; laser energy deposition; various topics in atomic physics; and laboratory astrophysics (for example the penetration of B-fields into HED plasmas). This platform uses the X-Rays from a wire array Z-Pinch to irradiate a silicon target, producing an outflow of ablated plasma. The ablated plasma expands into ambient, dynamically significant B-fields (~5 T) which are supported by the current flowing through the Z-Pinch. The outflows have a well-defined (quasi-1D) morphology, enabling the study of fundamental processes typically only available in more complex, integrated schemes. Experiments were fielded on the MAGPIE pulsed-power generator (1.4 MA, 240 ns rise time). On this machine a wire array Z-Pinch produces an X-Ray pulse carrying a total energy of ~15 kJ over ~30 ns. This equates to an average brightness temperature of around 10 eV on-target.