Formation, cascade development, and rupture of the X-pinch neck

Data from high-resolution x-ray shadow photography of an X-pinch in the diode of a high-power dense-plasma generator are presented. The processes leading to the formation of a minidiode, the compression of the neck arising in it, and the cutoff and subsequent emptying of the neck are studied. Cascade formation of short-lived structures, which consistently reproduce the form of the minidiode on small scales before the x-ray burst, is observed in the course of the implosion. The position of the x-ray emission points is determined.