Ion Acceleration in Megaampere Deuterium Gas-Puff Z-Pinch*

Acceleration of ions to high energies was observed in deuterium z-pinches already at the beginning of the fusion research in the 1950s. Even though the ion acceleration mechanism in z-pinches and dense plasma foci has been studied for decades, it is still a source of controversy which has not been resolved. Recently, the ion emission has been researched at a 3 MA current on the GIT-12 generator (IHCE in Tomsk). When an outer hollow cylindrical plasma shell was injected around an inner deuterium gas puff, a larger amount of current was assembled on the z-pinch axis at stagnation. After the disruptive development of m$=$0 necks, hydrogen ions were accelerated up to 40 MeV energies. Comprehensive diagnostics of multi-MeV protons and deuterons provided unique information about the ion acceleration in z-pinches. The better knowledge of the ion emission was used to increase the neutron yield above 10$^{\mathrm{13}}$. A large amount of experimental data from various ion diagnostic instruments is also useful for validation of numerical codes and verification of various hypotheses about the ion acceleration mechanism in z-pinches.