Inference of Plasma Parameters from Measurement of E and B Fields in a Coaxial Accelerator

Abstract

The current layer formed in a coaxial pulsed plasma accelerator has been examined with magnetic and electric field probes. The mappings of E and B indicate that if electrons are assumed to carry the plasma conduction current, the advancing current sheet cannot act as an impermeable piston; rather, it has the character of a strong ionizing shock which imparts some forward momentum to the gas, but does not bring plasma up to its own speed.