Formation of cavities in a Z pinch plasma

Technical Physics - The spatial structure and dynamics of the plasma in a high current vacuum spark discharge are studied via pulsed shadowgraphy. The formation of cavities in the neck plasma at...     

可见光分幅相机及其在Z箍缩诊断中的应用

研制了一套纳秒级可见光分幅相机,用于"强光一号"早期放电过程的观察和诊断.介绍了相机的主要性能,利用该相机得到了丝阵负载z箍缩等离子体的可见光图像,对结果进行了分析.     

Mesic molecules formation in solid deuterium

An explanation is suggested for the fast ddμ formation rate observed in solid deuterium. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Measurement of the ionization state and electron temperature of plasma during the ablation stage of a wire-array Z pinch using absorption spectroscopy

Wire-array plasmas were investigated in the nonradiative ablation stage via x-ray absorption spectroscopy. A laser-produced Sm plasma was used to backlight Al wire arrays. The Sm spectrum was simultaneously observed by two spectrometers: one recorded the unattenuated spectrum and the other the transmission spectrum with 1.45-1.55 keV K-shell absorption lines. Analysis of absorption spectra revealed electron temperature in the range of 10-30 eV and the presence of F-, O-, N- and C-like Al ions in the absorbing plasma. A comparison of this electron temperature with the postprocessed absorption spectra of a 2D MHD simulation yields results in general agreement with the data analysis.     

Shock compression of solid deuterium

Experimental data on the compression of solid deuterium at a pressure of ～60 GPa are presented. The data were obtained on a generator of powerful converging spherical shock waves. The results are compared with the data of shock experiments obtained on a Nova laser facility and an electrodynamic EPBF-Z plant.     

Study of the internal structure and small-scale instabilities in the dense Z pinch

High-resolution laser diagnostics at the wavelength of 266 nm were applied for the investigation of Z pinches at the 1-MA generator. The internal structure of the stagnated Z pinches was observed in unprecedented detail. A dense pinch with strong instabilities was seen inside the column of the trailing plasma. Kink instability, disruptions, and micropinches were seen at the peak of the x-ray pulse and later in time. The three-dimensional structure of the stagnated Z pinch depends on the initial wire-array configuration and implosion scenario. Small-scale density perturbations were found in the precursor plasma and in the stagnated Z pinch. Development of instabilities is in agreement with three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations.     

Measurement of instability growth in a magnetized Z pinch in the finite-Larmor-radius regime

The development of the m = 0 instability in a Z pinch was followed and the measured growth rates compared with 2D MHD simulations. Where MHD is valid, the measured growth rates agree well with simulation. Where the ions are magnetized, i.e., where the ion-cyclotron frequency is smaller than the ion-collision frequency and the ratio of the ion Larmor radius to pinch radius is of the order of 0.1, the growth rate was smaller than expected by a factor of 2.5. This is as predicted by finite-Larmor-radius theory. The product of the wave number and the pinch radius was ka approximately 2pi and was the same for all conditions. Perturbations as large as 30% of the pinch radius were observed; no nonlinear saturation was evident.     

Measurements of ultracold-neutron lifetimes in solid deuterium

We present the first measurements of the survival time of ultracold neutrons (UCNs) in solid deuterium (SD2). This critical parameter provides a fundamental limitation to the effectiveness of superthermal UCN sources that utilize solid ortho-deuterium as the source material. These measurements are performed utilizing a SD2 source coupled to a spallation source of neutrons, providing a demonstration of UCN production in this geometry and permitting systematic studies of the influence of thermal up-scatter and contamination with para-deuterium on the UCN survival time.     

Phonons and librons in solid hydrogen and deuterium

The coupled system of phonons and librons is treated in the Random Phase Approximation. The short range correlations are taken into account by an effective Hamiltonian. Dispersion curves and spectra are calculated for both the fcc and hcp phases. All calculations are performed a) with quadrupole-quadrupole forces only b) including the other anisotropic forces.     

A measurement of deuterium neutrals by the balmer-series in the STP-2 high beta screw pinch tokamak

The neutral particle density of a deuterium plasma in the STP-2 screw pinch tokamak has been determined spectroscopically. The particle density for the ground state of deuterium is calculated from the rate equations for population density of the excited levels with principal quantum numbers 3 and 4; both of the population densities were obtained from intensities of the Balmer alpha and beta lines, and the rate coefficients for electronic collision were estimated from the electron density (10¹⁴/cm³) and temperature (10 eV) measured by laser scattering. We find that the neutral density is approx. 2 × 10¹²/cm³ at the center of the plasma and 2 × 10¹⁴/cm³ on the periphery. The time history of the neutral deuterium density is consistent with the observed increase in plasma density.     

CARS study of deuterium clusters stabilized in solid helium

Solid deuterium clusters that for the first time have been isolated in a matrix of solid helium have been investigated at T=1.3 K and P=3 MPa by the coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) technique. The vibronic Q₁((J=0) and Q₁(J=1) line intensity, shape, and positions have been studied as functions of ortho and para content in the solid, as well as of the size of clusters. The strong effect of Raman scattering cross-section sensitivity to the molecular environment nuclear spin state has been found in CARS: the ratio of probabilities for the scattering by para(J=1) and ortho(J=0) deuterium, which is equal to 1 in a gas, is as high as 10000 in nearly pure ortho deuterium, whereas it is about 50 in spontaneous Raman scattering. This effect has been shown to occur starting from a cluster size corresponding to the onset of the phonon band.