Abstract
Two- and three-dimensional MHD simulations are used to provide a theoretical description of 2 wire molybdenum -pinch experiments. The initial evolution from solid wires to the formation of supersonic jets and a central micro- pinch is found to result from the slow rate of wire ablation and from the distribution of the Lorentz force. The growth of instabilities triggers the formation of micron sized regions of intense x-ray emission with plasma pressures in the Gbar range. A simple analytical model is used to predict how the maximum density and temperature scale with material and current.
- Received 19 July 2006
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.025003
©2007 American Physical Society