Cornell Beam Research Accelerator Research Articles

The generation of mega-gauss fields on the Cornell beam research accelerator.

Intense magnetic fields modify quantum processes in extremely dense matter, calling for precise measurements in very harsh conditions. This endeavor becomes even more challenging because the generation of mega-gauss fields in a laboratory is far from trivial. This paper presents a unique and compact approach to generate fields above 2 MG in less than 150 ns inside a volume on the order of half a cubic centimeter. Magnetic insulation, keeping plasma ablation close to the wire surface, and mechanical inertia, limiting coil motion throughout the current discharge, enable the generation of intense magnetic fields where the shape of the conductor controls the field topology with exquisite precision and versatility, limiting the need for mapping magnetic fields experimentally.

Extended Magnetohydrodynamic Plasma Jets With External Magnetic Fields

In this paper, collimated plasma jets form from Joule heating and ablation of a radial foil (Al 15- $\mu \text{m}$ -thin disk) using a pulsed power generator (Cornell Beam Research Accelerator) with 1-MA peak current and 100-ns rise time. Plasma dynamics of the jet are diagnosed with and without an applied uniform external magnetic field ( $\sim 1$ -T axial $B_{z}$ produced from a pulsed Helmholtz coil) and under a change of current polarity, which corresponds to current moving either radially inward or outward from the foil’s central axis. Experimental results are compared with predictions made by numerical simulations (Plasma as an Extended-MHD Relaxation System using an Efficient Upwind Scheme). The influence of the Hall effect on the jet development is observed under opposite current polarities.

Study of gas-puff Z-pinches on COBRA

Gas-puff Z-pinch experiments were conducted on the 1 MA, 200 ns pulse duration Cornell Beam Research Accelerator (COBRA) pulsed power generator in order to achieve an understanding of the dynamics and instability development in the imploding and stagnating plasma. The triple-nozzle gas-puff valve, pre-ionizer, and load hardware are described. Specific diagnostics for the gas-puff experiments, including a Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence system for measuring the radial neutral density profiles along with a Laser Shearing Interferometer and Laser Wavefront Analyzer for electron density measurements, are also described. The results of a series of experiments using two annular argon (Ar) and/or neon (Ne) gas shells (puff-on-puff) with or without an on- (or near-) axis wire are presented. For all of these experiments, plenum pressures were adjusted to hold the radial mass density profile as similar as possible. Initial implosion stability studies were performed using various combinations of the heavier (Ar) and lighter (Ne) gasses. Implosions with Ne in the outer shell and Ar in the inner were more stable than the opposite arrangement. Current waveforms can be adjusted on COBRA and it was found that the particular shape of the 200 ns current pulse affected on the duration and diameter of the stagnated pinched column and the x-ray yield.

Experimental Analysis of the Acceleration Region in Tungsten Wire Arrays

We present the first analysis of the ablated plasma flow acceleration region in tungsten cylindrical wire arrays within 1 mm of the wire core. We apply a recently developed modification to the Lebedev rocket model to infer the 2-D distribution of effective velocities which redistribute the array mass as a function of time. From these data, it is possible to directly observe the acceleration region in a wire array. Analysis of radiography data from the 1-MA Cornell Beam Research Accelerator machine suggests a region of rapid acceleration extending up to 300 μm from the wire core in 16 wire tungsten arrays.

Initial experiments using radial foils on the Cornell Beam Research Accelerator pulsed power generator

A novel technique involving radial foil explosions can produce high energy density plasmas. A current flows radially inward in a 5 μm thin aluminum foil from a circular anode, which contacts the foil on its outer rim, to the cathode, which connects to the foil at its geometrical center. When using small “pin” cathodes (∼1 mm in diameter) on a medium size pulsed-current generator such as the Cornell Beam Research Accelerator, the central magnetic field approaches 400 T, yielding magnetic pressures larger than 0.5 Mbar. While the dynamics is similar to radial wire arrays, radial foil discharges have very distinct characteristics. First a plasma jet forms, with densities near 5×1018 cm−3. J×B forces lift the foil upward with velocities of ∼200 km/s. A plasma bubble with electron densities superior to 5×1019 cm−3 then develops, surrounding a central plasma column, carrying most of the cathode current. X-ray bursts coming from the center of this column were recorded at 1 keV photon energy. As the magnetic bubble explodes, ballistic plasma projectiles form and escape with velocities exceeding 300 km/s. Laser shadowgraphy and interferometry, gated extreme ultraviolet imaging and miniature Bdot probes are used to investigate the magnetohydrodynamics properties of such configurations.

Soldered contact and current risetime effects on negative polarity wire array Z pinches

The experimental results described in this paper were motivated by earlier, low current, single wire experiments. In these experiments, single 10–25 μm diameter wires were driven by 1–5 kA current pulses with variable dI/dt from 5 to 60 A/ns. The amount of energy deposited in the wires, the expansion rate, and expansion uniformity that occurred before a plasma induced voltage collapse were found to depend on the polarity, dI/dt, and the quality of the contacts between the wires and the electrodes. This paper reports the results of experiments with cylindrical wire arrays driven by Cornell Beam Research Accelerator (COBRA) [J. B. Greenly, J. D. Douglas, D. A. Hammer et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 79, 073501 (2008)] current pulses that reached 1 MA. The pulse lengths were varied from 100 to 200 ns. These larger current pulses drove the wires of the array through the initiation phase studied in the single wire experiments and through ablation and Z-pinch implosion to stagnation on the cylindrical axis of the array. Regardless of the current pulse length, the COBRA dI/dt per wire during initiation reached approximately 175 A/ns and resistive voltage breakdown occurred at ∼13 ns. Wire-electrode contacts were modified by soldering the cathode ends of the wires to the brass electrode. With the 100 ns COBRA pulse, voltage monitor data suggested that soldering produced a smaller radius pinch, but bolometer data showed that this did not affect the total energy emitted from the array compared to nonsoldered contacts. With the 200 ns COBRA pulse and soldered contacts, the bolometer data showed an average of 69% increase in time integrated x-ray emission and the photoconducting detector data showed an increase in x-ray power and yield compared with nonsoldered contacts. Under these same conditions the four-frame extreme ultraviolet images showed a more pronounced “Christmas tree” effect at the cathode.

Implosion dynamics and radiation characteristics of wire-array Z pinches on the Cornell Beam Research Accelerator

Experimental results are presented that characterize the implosion dynamics and radiation output of wire-array Z pinches on the 1-MA, 100-ns rise-time Cornell Beam Research Accelerator (COBRA) [J. B. Greenly et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 79, 073501 (2008)]. The load geometries investigated include 20-mm-tall cylindrical arrays ranging from 4to16mm in diameter, and consisting of 8, 16, or 32 wires of either tungsten, aluminum, or Invar (64% iron, 36% nickel). Diagnostics fielded include an optical streak camera, a time-gated extreme-ultraviolet framing camera, a laser shadowgraph system, time-integrated pinhole cameras, an x-ray wide-band focusing spectrograph with spatial resolution, an x-ray streak camera, a load voltage monitor, a Faraday cup, a bolometer, silicon diodes, and diamond photoconducting detectors. The data produced by the entire suite of diagnostics are analyzed and presented to provide a detailed picture of the overall implosion process and resulting radiation output on COBRA. The highest x-ray peak powers (300–500GW) and total energy yields (6–10kJ) were obtained using 4-mm-diameter arrays that stagnated before peak current. Additional findings include a decrease in soft x-ray radiation prior to stagnation as the initial wire spacing was changed from 1.6mmto785μm, and a timing correlation between the onset of energetic electrons, hard x-ray generation, and the arrival of trailing current on axis—a correlation that is likely due to the formation of micropinches. The details of these and other findings are presented and discussed.

Telescopic refractive index gradient diagnostic of an ion diode anode plasma

We present a general analysis of possible variants of refractive index gradient (RING) diagnostics with a laser beam probe. Using a differential bicell photodiode as a detector, the sensitivity, dynamic range, and geometric restrictions of RING deflectometry have been found for lensless, one lens, and “three-telescope” optical schemes. The three-telescope method is found to be the most flexible and easily aligned. If the refracted/deflected laser beam cross section in the back focal plane of the output lens is also recorded using a fast framing camera, measurements of the beam deflection and its spatial frequency spectrum after passing through the refractive medium can be obtained simultaneously. A general relation is presented between the Fourier transform of a Gaussian beam by the output lens and the spatial frequency spectrum of the inhomogeneities. From these considerations, we present the specific design of a RING diagnostic for study of anode plasma evolution in a magnetically insulated ion diode on the Cornell Beam Research Accelerator (COBRA) (800 kV, 80 ns pulse). The maximum density gradient was found to be located about 0.4 mm from the anode surface at the peak of the diode voltage pulse. The electron density at this position was about 2×1015 cm−3. The transverse spatial frequency distribution of the probe laser beam after passing through the anode plasma was recorded using the optical Fourier transform technique. This experiment demonstrates that the combined integrated deflection. (RING) and Fourier transform optical techniques can give a great deal of information about this thin (∼1 mm) anode plasma layer.