Interaction of high-speed plasma jet with a pulse of powerful microwave radiation

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The interaction of high-speed plasma jet created by a discharge in an ablative capillary with powerful pulse of microwave radiation (W≈600 kW, λ=2.3 cm, τ=8 μs) is studied. A significant influence of microwave radiation pulse on the plasma jet flow pattern, connected with the development of instability similar to the instability of the free shear flows, is found. Evolution of instability depends on the initial level of perturbation and the plasma flow velocity. The typical for gas jet flows “classical” evolution scenario of instability, including the steps of perturbation amplification, the formation of large-scale vortex structures, their nonlinear interaction and the development of turbulence is realized only at high intensities of the initial perturbation and plasma velocity close to the threshold of the laminar-turbulent transition. In the case of low-speed plasma jets the perturbation amplification leads, eventually, to the interruption of the flow without obvious signs of turbulence. The scenario of instability attenuation is realized at low levels of initial perturbation and generally is common both for low-speed and for high-speed jets, and includes the perturbation zone extension with its simultaneous drift downstream. The drift velocity of the perturbation is comparable to the plasma velocity in the peripheral zone of the jet, which indicates the shear nature of the instability. A significant influence of the plasma jet’s condition on the spatial position of the microwave pulse energy release domain is found.