Radius and current scaling of argon K-shell radiation

Abstract

Argon gas puff experiments on a 3–4 MA generator show that the K-shell x-ray yield is optimized for a 2.5 cm initial diameter and 110 ns implosion time. By varying the driver current, the K-shell yield varies from 13 to 18 kJ following a current to the fourth power scaling. Comparisons of these experimental data to one-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamic simulations with and without enhanced transport coefficients show that the measured K-shell yields exceed those predicted based solely on kinetic energy input.