Snowplow Model Predictions for Plasma Temperature in Z pinch Discharges

TL;DR

This paper extends the snowplow model to predict plasma temperature and energy transfer in Z pinch discharges, providing a practical formula and analyzing parameter effects in real experiments.

Contribution

It introduces equations for plasma temperature and energy transfer in Z pinch discharges within the snowplow model framework, including a formula summarizing key findings.

Findings

Plasma temperature grows linearly with initial capacitor voltage.

Derived a compact formula for plasma temperature and energy transfer.

Analyzed parameter modifications on plasma behavior.

Abstract

Using the general framework of the snowplow model, we introduce the equations for computing plasma temperature in Z pinch discharges. We also present expressions to quantify energy transfers in Z pinch discharges. We then apply this methodology to estimate the temperature and energy transfers of a real prototypical experiment and analyze how the plasma temperature behaves under various modifications of the parameters of the prototypical experiment. Among our discoveries we highlight that the temperature of the plasma in the discharges grows linearly with the initial voltage at the capacitor bank. We summarize this and other findings through a single, fairly compact formula.