Three-dimensional hybrid simulations with kinetic ions and fluid electrons of Z-pinch plasmas are being used to investigate the linear and nonlinear development of sausage and kink instabilities with model profiles in the presence of effects which go beyond ideal magnetohydrodynamics. In addition, the hybrid simulations are also being applied to model start-up plasmas in long pulse Z-pinch impl...

The Zeeman effect has been used for measurement of magnetic fields in low-temperature plasma, but the diagnostic technique is difficult to implement in a high-temperature plasma. This paper describes new instrumentation and methodology for simultaneous measurement of the entire Doppler-broadened left and right circularly polarized Zeeman spectra in high-temperature plasmas. Measurements are mad...

Two- and three-dimensional MHD simulations are used to provide a theoretical description of 2 wire molybdenum X-pinch experiments. The initial evolution from solid wires to the formation of supersonic jets and a central micro-Z pinch is found to result from the slow rate of wire ablation and from the distribution of the Lorentz force. The growth of m=0 instabilities triggers the formation of mi...

We present the application of a short rise ( 150 ns) 250 kA linear transformer driver (LTD) to wire array z-pinch loads for the first time. The generator is a modification of a previous driver in which a new conical power feed provides a low inductance coupling to wire loads. Performance of the new design using both short circuit and plasma loads is presented and discussed. The final design del...

A z-pinch capillary plasma as an alternative active medium of soft X-Ray lasers was studied experimentally and theoretically. The theoretical analysis was based on the self consistent solution of the so called “snow plow” model. The dynamics of pinched plasma is determined by the capillary parameters and by the time dependence of electrical current passing through it. The current time dependenc...