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arXiv · 0904.0165

Formation of Episodic Magnetically Driven Radiatively Cooled Plasma Jets in the Laboratory

F. Suzuki-Vidal·S. V. Lebedev·A. Ciardi·S. N. Bland·J. P. Chittenden·G. N. Hall·A. Harvey-Thompson·A. Marocchino·C. Ning·C. Stehle·A. Frank·E. G. Blackman·S. C. Bott·T. Ray
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Abstract

We report on experiments in which magnetically driven radiatively cooled plasma jets were produced by a 1 MA, 250 ns current pulse on the MAGPIE pulsed power facility. The jets were driven by the pressure of a toroidal magnetic field in a ''magnetic tower'' jet configuration. This scenario is characterized by the formation of a magnetically collimated plasma jet on the axis of a magnetic ''bubble'', confined by the ambient medium. The use of a radial metallic foil instead of the radial wire arrays employed in our previous work allows for the generation of episodic magnetic tower outflows which emerge periodically on timescales of ~30 ns. The subsequent magnetic bubbles propagate with velocities reaching ~300 km/s and interact with previous eruptions leading to the formation of shocks.

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F. Suzuki-Vidal, S. V. Lebedev, A. Ciardi, S. N. Bland, J. P. Chittenden, G. N. Hall, A. Harvey-Thompson, A. Marocchino, C. Ning, C. Stehle, A. Frank, E. G. Blackman, S. C. Bott, T. Ray. 2009-04-01. Formation of Episodic Magnetically Driven Radiatively Cooled Plasma Jets in the Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10509-009-9981-1

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