Experimental study of a supersonic plasma jet interacting with an ambient gas*

The dynamics of the interaction of a supersonic, radiatively cooled plasma jet with an ambient gas are presented. The experimental setup consists of a radial foil, a $\mu $m-thick aluminum disc held between two concentric electrodes and subjected to a 1.4 MA, 250 ns current pulse from the MAGPIE generator. The plasma flow, with typical velocities of $\sim $70-90 km/s, is produced by the JxB force acting on the plasma ablated from the foil. A jet is formed from the convergence of this ablated plasma on the axis of the system. The jet interacts with an argon ambient (N$\sim $10$^{16-17}$ cm$^{-3})$ from a supersonic gas nozzle (Mach$\sim $9). The formation of several shock structures from the interaction of the jet with the gas will be presented and discussed.