| Autor: |
D Klir, A V Shishlov, V A Kokshenev, S L Jackson, K Rezac, R K Cherdizov, J Cikhardt, G N Dudkin, F I Fursov, J Krasa, J Kravarik, P Kubes, N E Kurmaev, V Munzar, N A Ratakhin, K Turek, V A Varlachev |
| Jazyk: |
angličtina |
| Rok vydání: |
2020 |
| Předmět: |
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| Zdroj: |
New Journal of Physics, Vol 22, Iss 10, p 103036 (2020) |
| Druh dokumentu: |
article |
| ISSN: |
1367-2630 |
| DOI: |
10.1088/1367-2630/abbab5 |
| Popis: |
Acceleration of ions to multi-MeV energies is investigated in various plasma devices to better understand processes in astrophysical plasmas and to develop efficient accelerators for a variety of applications. This paper reports the production of proton, deuteron, and electron beams in a z-pinch—a cylindrically symmetric plasma column that is compressed by its own magnetic field. For this work, the GIT-12 pulsed-power generator was used to drive a novel configuration of z-pinch that dramatically enhanced ion acceleration associated with disruption of the current by instabilities in the compressed plasma. During the disruption of 3 MA current, hydrogen ions were accelerated up to at least 50 MeV, which is almost a hundred-times the ion energy provided by the generator driving voltage of 0.6 MV. Under optimal conditions, the total numbers of hydrogen ions with energies above 20 and 50 MeV were 4 × 10 ^13 and 10 ^11 , respectively. Accelerated deuterons produced one 20 ns (full width at half maximum) pulse of fast neutrons via D(d, n) ^3 He and other nuclear reactions. A maximum neutron output of (1.0 ± 0.2) × 10 ^12 neutrons/sr was observed downstream, i.e., in the anode to cathode direction. In this direction, the maximum neutron energy reached 58 ± 7 MeV. Both ion and neutron beams in our experiment reached an end-point energy of about 60 MeV, which is the highest value observed in pulsed-power devices. A localized peak voltage of ≳60 MV was driven by the inductive energy that was stored around the plasma column and that was extracted during a sub-nanosecond current drop. Considering the natural occurrence of current-carrying columns in laboratory and space plasmas, the current interruption observed in z-pinches could represent a more general physical process that contributes to the efficient conversion of magnetic energy into the energy of particle beams in various plasmas. |
| Databáze: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |
| Externí odkaz: |
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