K-shell Yield Research Articles

K- and L-shell theoretical fluorescence yields for the Fe isonuclear sequence

In this work, we present K- and L- shell fluorescence yield values of the full isonuclear sequence of Fe ions, using a state-of-the-art multiconfiguration Dirac–Fock approach. These results may be of importance for spectral fitting and plasma modeling, both in laboratory and astrophysical studies, where Fe is an important benchmark element. The K-shell fluorescence yields were found to be very similar up to the removal of 14 electrons.

A model for K-shell x-ray yield from magnetic implosions at Sandia's Z machine

A zero-dimensional magnetic implosion model with a coupled equivalent circuit for the description of an imploding nested wire array or gas puff is presented. Circuit model results have been compared with data from imploding stainless steel wire arrays, and good agreement has been found. The total energy coupled to the load, Ej×B, has been applied to a simple semi-analytic K-shell yield model, and excellent agreement with previously reported K-shell yields across all wire array and gas puff platforms is seen. Trade space studies in implosion radius and mass have found that most platforms operate near the predicted maximum yield. In some cases, the K-shell yield may be increased by increasing the mass or radius of the imploding array or gas puff.

K-shell radiation and neutron emission from z-pinch plasmas generated by hybrid gas-puff implosions onto on-axis wires

Z-pinches have been explored as efficient soft x-ray sources for many years. To optimize x-ray emission, various z-pinch configurations were tested. This paper presents data obtained with a hybrid gas-puff z-pinch imploding onto on-axis wires on a microsecond, multi-megaampere GIT-12 generator. In our previous experiments, the hybrid gas puff, i.e., an inner deuterium gas puff surrounded by an outer hollow cylindrical plasma shell, was used to produce energetic protons, deuterons, and neutrons up to 60 MeV [Klir et al., New J. Phys. 22, 103036 (2020)]. The behavior of the hybrid gas-puff z-pinch on GIT-12 was interpreted as a high-density plasma opening switch with a microsecond conduction time, 3 MA conduction current, nanosecond opening, and up to 60 MV stand-off voltage. These properties can be employed to transfer the current into an on-axis load with a high rise rate. In the recent experiments on GIT-12, we therefore placed single or multiple aluminum wires on the axis of the hybrid gas-puff z-pinch. Before a current sheath arrived at the axis, a coronal plasma was seen around the wire. A rapid increase in x-ray radiation was observed when the coronal plasma imploded onto the axis. The coronal plasma implosion resulted in a long (2 cm), narrow (∼mm) column radiating in the Al K-shell lines. With the single Al wire of 80 μm diameter, the K-shell x-ray output reached 5.5 ± 0.8 kJ in a 0.6 ± 0.1 TW peak power and 7 ± 1 ns pulse. The higher K-shell yield of 12 ± 2 kJ and peak K-shell power of 0.7 ± 0.1 TW were achieved with four 38 μm diameter Al wires. (Their cross section formed the corners of a square with 1 mm side.) The presence of the wires on the axis significantly suppressed ion acceleration and neutron production. Deuterium-deuterium (DD) neutron yields of about 1.2 × 1011 were 20 times smaller than the yields produced in shots without any wire. The DD neutron yield was increased up to 4.5 × 1011 when the Al wire was replaced by a fiber from deuterated polyethylene. A characteristic feature of the experiments with the (CD2)n fiber was a rapid expansion with the velocity approaching 900 km/s.

Simulations of Recent Argon Gas-Puff Implosions on Z With Xe and Kr Dopants

An intriguing result is that a small fraction of Xe (0.8% by number in the center jet) can have a significant impact on the emitted K-shell radiation in an Ar gas-puff implosion. This result was recently obtained from a pair of experiments on Sandia National Laboratories Z machine. These shots were Z2603 (with Xe) and Z2605 (without Xe). The pair had similar initial density profiles (outer shell, inner shell, and center jet) but one had the small aforementioned percentage of Xe dopant in the center jet. The resultant Ar K-shell yield was considerably reduced from 373 ± 9% to 129 ± 9% kJ without an analogous change in the total emitted power or total radiation yield. Furthermore, the K-shell power pulse for Z2603 reduced to a broad bimodal, 7 terra watts (TW) pulse, much smaller than the 32 TW conventional single peak for Z2605. Radiation-magnetohydrodynamic simulations presented herein qualitatively reproduce major trends from experiments. Detailed analyses of the implosion dynamics, temperature and density profiles, and emitted radiation agree qualitatively with the previous study. The effect of varying the xenon fraction on K-shell radiation suggests that enhanced Xe concentration reduces K-shell emission by diminishing K-Shell radiation from the central jet.

Effect of the gas distribution on implosion dynamics and the K-shell yield of the neon gas-puffs with the outer plasma shell

The experiments have been carried out on the GIT-12 generator to characterize the effect of the anode and cathode meshes installed on the path of the gas flow on the initial gas density distribution, the gas-puff implosion dynamics, and the resulting radiative characteristics of the Ne K-shell plasma radiation source (PRS) operated in the microsecond implosion regime. The experiments showed that the obstacles located directly on the way of the main gas flow have the greatest influence on the gas distribution in the interelectrode gap of the generator. At all other factors being the same, the presence or absence of the anode and cathode meshes changed significantly the implosion dynamics and radiative characteristics of the Ne K-shell PRS. In our experiments, we observed two-fold decrease in the K-shell radiation yield and more than four-fold decrease in the K-shell radiation power. These observations should be taking into account in development of the gas-puff loads for Z-pinch experiments.

Effects of a Xe dopant on an Ar gas-puff implosion on Z

Two Ar gas-puff experiments, each using loads consisting of two annuli and a center jet, were recently performed on Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine. These shots had the same load except that one of them (Z2603) employed a Xe dopant of 0.8% by number in the jet, which was not present in the otherwise identical Z2605. The extensive diagnostics deployed in these experiments reveal that the presence of this small fraction of Xe had a significant effect on the emitted K-shell radiation. Use of the Xe dramatically reduced the Ar K-shell yield from 373 ± 9% to 129 ± 9% kJ. However, the total yield increased, from 1.02 ± 17% to 1.14 ± 17% MJ. Also, the K-shell power pulse for Z2603 exhibited two nearly equal peaks separated by ∼5 ns, but that of Z2605 consisted of a more conventional single peak. Analysis of time- and space resolved K-shell spectra using a detailed atomic model for Ar ions indicates that a much greater fraction of the load mass was heated to the K-shell in the non-Xe shot Z2605. Previous ...

Simulations of Ar gas-puff Z-pinch radiation sources with double shells and central jets on the Z generator

Radiation-magnetohydrodynamic simulations using the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium Mach2-Tabular Collisional-Radiative Equilibrium code in (r, z) geometry are performed for two pairs of recent Ar gas-puff Z-pinch experiments on the refurbished Z generator with an 8 cm diameter nozzle. One pair of shots had an outer-to-inner shell mass ratio of 1:1.6 and a second pair had a ratio of 1:1. In each pair, one of the shots had a central jet. The experimental trends in the Ar K-shell yield and power are reproduced in the calculations. However, the K-shell yield and power are significantly lower than the other three shots for the case of a double-shell puff of 1:1 mass ratio and no central jet configuration. Further simulations of a hypothetical experiment with the same relative density profile of this configuration, but higher total mass, show that the coupled energy from the generator and the K-shell yield can be increased to levels achieved in the other three configurations, but not the K-shell power. Based on various measures of effective plasma radius, the compression in the 1:1 mass ratio and no central jet case is found to be less because the plasma inside the magnetic piston is hotter and of lower density. Because of the reduced density, and the reduced radiation cooling (which is proportional to the square of the density), the core plasma is hotter. Consequently, for the 1:1 outer-to-inner shell mass ratio, the load mass controls the yield and the center jet controls the power.

Investigating the effect of adding an on-axis jet to Ar gas puff Z pinches on Z

Double-shell Ar gas puff implosions driven by 16.5 ± 0.5 MA on the Z generator at Sandia National Laboratories are very effective emitters of Ar K-shell radiation (photon energy >3 keV), producing yields of 330 ± 9% kJ [B. Jones et al., Phys. Plasmas 22, 020706 (2015)]. Previous simulations and experiments have reported dramatic increases in K-shell yields when adding an on-axis jet to double shell gas puffs for some configurations. We report on a series of experiments on Z testing Ar gas puff configurations with and without an on-axis jet guided by 3D magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. Adding an on-axis jet was found to significantly improve the performance of some, but not all, configurations. The maximum observed K-shell yield of 375 ± 9% kJ was produced with a configuration that rapidly imploded onto an on-axis jet. A dramatic difference was observed in the plasma conditions at stagnation when a jet was used, producing a narrower stagnation column in experiments with a higher density but relatively lower electron temperature. The MHD simulations accurately reproduce the experimental measurements. The conversion efficiency for electrical energy delivered to the load to K-shell x-rays is estimated to be ∼12.5% for the best-performing configuration, similar to the best results from experiments at smaller facilities.

A non-LTE analysis of high energy density Kr plasmas on Z and NIF

Multi-keV X-ray radiation sources have a wide range of applications, from biomedical studies and research on thermonuclear fusion to materials science and astrophysics. The refurbished Z pulsed power machine at the Sandia National Laboratories produces intense multi-keV X-rays from argon Z-pinches, but for a krypton Z-pinch, the yield decreases much faster with atomic number ZA than similar sources on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. To investigate whether fundamental energy deposition differences between pulsed power and lasers could account for the yield differences, we consider the Kr plasma on the two machines. The analysis assumes the plasma not in local thermodynamic equilibrium, with a detailed coupling between the hydrodynamics, the radiation field, and the ionization physics. While for the plasma parameters of interest the details of krypton's M-shell are not crucial, both the L-shell and the K-shell must be modeled in reasonable detail, including the state-specific dielectronic recombination processes that significantly affect Kr's ionization balance and the resulting X-ray spectrum. We present a detailed description of the atomic model, provide synthetic K- and L-shell spectra, and compare these with the available experimental data from the Z-machine and from NIF to show that the K-shell yield behavior versus ZA is indeed related to the energy input characteristics. This work aims at understanding the probable causes that might explain the differences in the X-ray conversion efficiencies of several radiation sources on Z and NIF.

K-shell fluorescence yields and their uncertainties for use in hybrid K-edge densitometry

Hybrid K-edge densitometry (HKED) is a non-destructive analytical assay technique used to provide rapid determination of actinide concentration in tank solutions. Of special interest for HKED is the estimation, along with associated uncertainties, of the ratio of the flouresence yeilds, ωK, of uranium and plutonium. Limited experimental data for ωK(Z) as a function of atomic number, Z, exist and the data are subject to experimental uncertainty. Previous studies have provided values for ωK(Z) with uncertainty estimates but have not included covariance information. We use a phenomenological model with a bootstrapping method to generate the ratio ωK(94)/ωK(92) and associated uncertainty.

Wire-Array Z-Pinch Length Variations for K-Shell X-Ray Generation on Z

In developing stainless-steel (SS) and copper wire-array X-ray sources on the Z machine, we consider the optimization of K-shell yield as a function of load height. Theory, numerical modeling, and experimental data suggest that an optimum exists corresponding to a tradeoff between the increase in radiating mass and the decrease in coupled current with increasing pinch height. A typical load height of 20 mm used on many previous Z wire-array X-ray sources is found to be near optimal for K-shell yield production in SS and copper implosions. Electrical data, pinhole imaging, and spectroscopy are used to study plasma conditions in wire-array z pinches corresponding to the variation in K-shell power and yield per unit length as the pinch height is changed from 12 to 24 mm.

2-D RMHD Modeling Assessment of Current Flow, Plasma Conditions, and Doppler Effects in Recent Z Argon Experiments

By varying current-loss circuit parameters, the Mach2-tabular collisional radiative equilibrium 2-D radiation magnetohydrodynamic model was tuned to reproduce the radiative and electrical properties of three recent argon gas-puff experiments (same initial conditions) performed on the Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories. The model indicates that there were current losses occurring near or within the diode region of the Z machine during the stagnation phase of the implosion. The “good” simulation reproduces the experimental K-shell powers, K-shell yields, total powers, percentage of emission radiated in α lines, size of the K-shell emission region, and the average electron temperature near the time-of-peak K-shell power. The calculated atomic populations, ion temperatures, and radial velocities are used as input to a detailed multifrequency ray-trace radiation transport model that includes the Doppler effect. This model is employed to construct time-, space-, and energy-resolved synthetic spectra. The role the Doppler effect likely plays in the experiments is demonstrated by comparing synthetic spectra generated with and without this effect.

The effect of gradients at stagnation on K-shell x-ray line emission in high-current Ar gas-puff implosions

Argon gas puffs have produced 330 kJ ± 9% of x-ray radiation above 3 keV photon energy in fast z-pinch implosions, with remarkably reproducible K-shell spectra and power pulses. This reproducibility in x-ray production is particularly significant in light of the variations in instability evolution observed between experiments. Soft x-ray power measurements and K-shell line ratios from a time-resolved spectrum at peak x-ray power suggest that plasma gradients in these high-mass pinches may limit the K-shell radiating mass, K-shell power, and K-shell yield from high-current gas puffs.

A Renewed Capability for Gas Puff Science on Sandia's Z Machine

A comprehensive gas puff capability is being developed on the Z pulsed power generator. We describe the methodology employed for developing a gas puff load on Z, which combines characterization and modeling of the neutral gas mass flow from a supersonic nozzle, numerical modeling of the implosion of this mass profile, and experimental evaluation of these magnetic implosions on Z. We are beginning a multiyear science program to study gas puff z-pinch physics at high current, starting with an 8-cm diameter double-shell nozzle, which delivers a column of Ar gas that is imploded by the machine's fast current pulse. The initial shots have been designed using numerical simulation with two radiation-magnetohydrodynamic codes. These calculations indicate that 1 mg/cm should provide optimal coupling to the driver and 1.6:1 middle:outer shell mass ratio will best balance the need for high implosion velocity against the need to mitigate the magnetic Rayleigh–Taylor instability. The models suggest 300–500-kJ Ar K-shell yield should be achievable on Z, and we report an initial commissioning shot at lower voltage in which 250 kJ was measured. Future experiments will pursue optimization of Ar and Kr K-shell X-ray sources, study fusion in deuterium gas puffs, and investigate the physics of gas puff implosions including energy coupling, instability growth, and radiation generation.

Increasing the K-shell yield of line radiation in Z-pinch implosions using alloyed Al/Mg wire-arrays

The variation of the K-shell yield of pure aluminum wire-array Z-pinch implosions with load parameters is discussed. The mechanism and the efficiency of increasing the K-shell yield using alloyed Al/Mg wire-arrays are numerically investigated. It has been shown that the maximum K-shell yield from a pure aluminum wire-array Z-pinch implosion can be obtained at an optimal load mass for a given generator and at a fixed initial wire-array radius. This optimal load mass is determined by the load energy coupling with the generator, the capability of Z-pinch plasmas to emit the K-shell radiation, and the self absorption of K-shell lines. For different generators, the optimal load mass increases as the drive current increases, and the line absorption limits the further increase of K-shell radiation. The coupled energy per ion is likely decreasing with increased mass, so the plasma might not be able to ionize into the K-shell. Also, the ability of the plasma to radiatively cool can increase with mass, thus, making it difficult for the plasma to ionize into and remain in the K-shell during the stagnation phase of the implosion. Alloyed Al/Mg wire-arrays were thus suggested to be used to decrease the opacity of K-shell lines and to increase the overall K-shell yield. In this paper, we show that using alloyed Al/Mg wire-arrays will decrease the opacity and increase the K-shell yield remarkably if the plasma is optically thick. We will also show that the efficiency of increasing the K-shell yield with alloyed Al/Mg wire-arrays cannot increase indefinitely. The ratio of K-shell yield from an alloyed Al/Mg wire-array to that from a pure aluminum wire-array reaches a limit. For example, we show that when the mass share of magnesium is 10% then this limit is 1.2, and for a 50% mass share, the limit is 1.3.

Characteristics of implosion and radiation for aluminum planar wire array z-pinch at 1.5 MA

Planar wire arrays Z pinches were carried out on Qiangguang generator (1.5 MA, 100 ns). Loads with varied row widths (6–24 mm) and wire numbers (10–34) were employed in the experiments. The implosion dynamics of planar wire arrays has been studied. Meanwhile, the changes of the implosion time, radiation yield and power with array mass, inter-wire gap, and array width were investigated. The images of a soft X-ray camera exhibit that the trailing mass, precursor column, and R-T instability exist during the implosion phase, and when m = 0 maybe accompanied with m = 1, instability will rapidly develop after stagnation. The implosion trajectories show that loads will implode by the snowplow mode and about 50% of total initial array mass will participate in the final implosion. The maximum total X-ray energy is 22 kJ with a power of 630 GW, while the maximum K-shell yield is 3.9 kJ with a power of 158 GW. Experiments with different planar wire arrays show that the value of mPD02 (the product of line mass and squared width) is the critical factor which affects the implosion time and the X-ray products of the wire arrays. The optimum value of mPD02 should be in the range of 200–400 μgcm and the inter-wire gap should be less than 1 mm.

Study of the precursor and non-precursor implosion regimes in wire array Z-pinches

Star-like and closely spaced nested wire array configurations were investigated in precursor and non-precursor implosions. Closely spaced nested cylindrical arrays have inner and outer arrays with equal wire numbers, and inner and outer wires aligned to each other. The gap between the outer and inner wires is not more than 1 mm. Calculation of magnetic fields shows that the small gap results in a reversed, outward j × B force on the inner wires. Closely spaced arrays of 6–16 wires with outer diameter of 16 mm and with gaps of ΔR = 0.25–1 mm were tested. 6–8-wire arrays with a gap of ΔR = 0.4–1 mm imploded without precursor, but precursor was present in loads with 12–16 wires and ΔR = 0.25–1 mm. Implosion dynamics of closely spaced arrays was similar to that of star-like arrays. Implosion time was found to decrease with decreased wire numbers. Star array configurations were designed with a numerical scheme to implode with or without precursor. The lack of precursor resulted in a marginal improvement in total x-ray yield and power, and up to 20% increase in Al K-shell yield. The Al K-shell radiated energy was found to increase with decreasing the number of arrays in closely spaced and star-like wire arrays.

Efficient laser-induced 6-8 keV x-ray production from iron oxide aerogel and foil-lined cavity targets

The performance of new iron-based laser-driven x-ray sources has been tested at the OMEGA laser facility for production of x rays in the 6.5–8.5 keV range. Two types of targets were experimentally investigated: low-density iron oxide aerogels (density 6−16 mg/cm3) and stainless steel foil-lined cavity targets (steel thickness 1−5 μm). The targets were irradiated by 40 beams of the OMEGA laser (500 J/beam, 1 ns pulse, wavelength 351 nm). All targets showed good coupling with the laser, with <5% of the incident laser light backscattered by the resulting plasma in all cases (typically <2.5%). The aerogel targets produced Te=2 to 3 keV, ne=0.12−0.2 critical density plasmas yielding a 40%–60% laser-to-x-ray total conversion efficiency (CE) (1.2%–3% in the Fe K-shell range). The foil cavity targets produced Te∼ 2 keV, ne∼ 0.15 critical density plasmas yielding a 60%–75% conversion efficiency (1.6%–2.2% in the Fe K-shell range). Time-resolved images illustrate that the volumetric heating of low-density aerogels allow them to emit a higher K-shell x-ray yield even though they contain fewer Fe atoms. However, their challenging fabrication process leads to a larger shot-to-shot variation than cavity targets.

K-shell fluorescence yields of barium and lanthanum

K-shell fluorescence yields for barium and lanthanum have been measured adopting simple 2π geometrical configuration and employing a weak 57Co radioactive source. A scintillation spectrometer with an NaI(Tl) detector of dimensions 44.5 mm diameter×50 mm thickness was employed for the detection and measurement of radiation. The results obtained are in good agreement with the best-fitted values of Hubbell et al. (1994) and also with the other experimental values, indicating that our simple method can be extended to determine fluorescence parameters of high Z materials.

Study on K-shell X-ray production of double-shellneon gas puff Z-pinch

The main results of investigation on K-shell X-ray production of double-shell neon gas puff Z-pinch, driven by Qiangguang-I facility (1.6 MA, 70 ns), are reported. The exit radii of the outer and inner shells are 1.5—1.4 cm and 0.75—0.6 cm, respectively. Both shells have a throat width of 0.32 mm, while the ratio of the throat radii is 2.8 ∶1, to which the mass ratio would be approximately equal for identical plenum pressures. K-shell yield and peak power up to 7 kJ and 0.28 TW, respectively, for a 20 ns full width at half maximum pulse have been obtained with about 120 ns implosions, the load mass per unit length of which are estimated to be 60—70 μg/cm. Time-resolved X-ray images show that RT instability during the implosion stage has been well suppressed, resulting in a final pinch diameter compressed to less than 2.5 mm. The final implosion velocity exceeds 25 cm/μs. K-shell yields and peak powers are largely reduced with longer implosion time. For shots with lower mass, i.e. 28—63 μg/cm, the electron temperature inferred from time-gated K-shell spectra should be greater than 500 eV, implying an overheated plasma column being formed in the stagnation stage. While for shots with load mass of 72—80 μg/cm, time resolved electron temperatures are in the range of 300—400 eV. The inferred ion densities of the K-shell emitting region are in the range of (3—9)×1019 cm-3, which have been used to calculate the mass fractions that contribute to K-shell radiation. Those shots with near 7 kJ yields also have maximum K-shell emitting load mass (about 46 μg/cm).