Experimental and Computational Studies of High Energy Density Plasma Streams Ablated from Fine Wires

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

This award is made in response to a proposal submitted to and reviewed under the NSF/DoE Partnership in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering joint solicitation NSF 08-589. The award provides funds to support undergraduate participation in the overall research effort, which is being funded separately by the DoE under contract number (Science report #09ER55048). Wire-array Z-pinches are presently the highest energy and power pulsed X-radiation sources available; the Z-pinch geometry can also be used for basic High Energy Density physics studies. The performance of these pinches depends fundamentally upon the ablation stream physics. Wire ablation streams will also be used in geometries other than cylindrical Z-pinches to produce high-beta (>1), high Mach number plasmas to investigate a variety of basic physical processes in radiation dominated plasmas with mm-cm scale lengths as well as shocks and driven magnetic reconnection in high energy density plasma. The proposed experiments and simulations will investigate a wide range of configurations that may allow controlled variation of the basic stream parameters: mass density, velocity, and, especially, advected magnetic field, current density, and plasma beta. The proposed research on Cornell University's COBRA Facility includes training of graduate students on a state of the art pulsed power generator with advanced electro-optical diagnostic systems and enables undergraduates to work with advanced graduate students and participate in research using such equipment. As the COBRA Facility is available for use by outside research groups, participants in the proposed research will be interacting with researchers from several universities. The proposed project will also be ideal for inclusion of Cadet-interns from the U.S. Military Academy (USMA), West Point as part of an informal program that is just getting started between Cornell's Laboratory of Plasma Studies and the Nuclear Science and Engineering Research Center at the USMA, Colonel Jeffrey Musk, Director. The undergraduate participation adds a broader educational impact through the early-year training of students by introducing them to scientific research as a possible career path.