Thermal effects on the dynamics of a two-gas gas-puff Ζ–θ pinch

Abstract

The imploding plasma column of a gas-puff Ζ-pinch has been used to compress the target-gas-embedded axial magnetic field in the presence of plasma pressure. The dynamics of a two-gas gas-puff Ζ-θ pinch is studied with different forms of applied current profiles. We find that the inclusion of a kinetic pressure term introduces the usual β–term, which delays and reduces the maximum compression. On the other hand, for fixed β, compression at an earlier time can be achieved for a large density ratio of the test to the driver gas at the interface position. For the pressure-free case, our earlier results are completely recovered.