The role of strong coupling in z-pinch-driven approaches to high yield inertial confinement fusion

Abstract

Abstract. Peakx-ray powers as high as 280k40 TW have been generated from the implosion of tungsten wire arrays on the Z Accelerator at Sandia National Laboratories. The high x-ray powers radiated by these z-pinches provide an attractive new driver option for high yield inertial confinement fusion (ICF). The high x-ray powers appear to be a result of using a large number of wires in the array which decreases the perturbation seed to the magnetic RayleighTaylor (MRT) instability and diminishes other 3-D effects. Simulations tQ confirm this hypothesis require a 3-D MHD code capability, and associated databases, to follow the evolution of the wires from cold solid through melt, vaporization, ionization, and finally to dense imploded plasma. Strong coupling plays a role in this process, the importance of which depends on the wire material and the current time history of the pulsed power driver. Strong coupling regimes are involved in the plasmas in the convolute and transmission line of the powerflow system. Strong coupling can also play a role in the physics of the z-pinch-driven high yield ICF target. Finally, strong coupling can occur in certain z-pinch-driven application experiments.

Growth rates of the m=0 mode for Bennett equilibria with varying radial density and temperature profiles

“…Qualitatively similar profiles have been inferred from experiment 11,12 and are seen in one-dimensional ͑1D͒ simulations of wire initiation. 13 A relevant model equilibrium is a skin current with density and temperature profiles given by nϭn 0 /͑1ϩ␣r l /a l ͒, TϭT 0 ͑ 1ϩ␣r l /a l ͒. ͑3͒…”

Nanosecond electric explosion of wires: from solid superheating to nonideal plasma formation

“…Electric explosion of wires is one of the applications of non-ideal (strongly coupled) plasma [1,2,3,4,5,6] and on the other hand is an important means of nonideal plasma generation [7,8,9]. Nowadays timescales of electric explosion of metal wires cover the region from micro-to nanoseconds.…”