Investigation of plasma parameters of the inflows and outflows of a pulsed-power-driven magnetic reconnection layer*

Presented are results from the first 4 Magnetic Reconnection on Z (MARZ) experiments. This platform was designed to investigate reconnection in a strongly cooled regime where the cooling rates are much faster than the hydrodynamic transit rate. Two exploding wire arrays were driven in parallel on Z using a 20 MA, 300 ns rise current pulse, creating highly-collisional, super-Alfvenic plasma flows with anti-parallel magnetic fields being advected from the wire arrays. These plasma flows interact at the mid-plane of the wire arrays creating a current sheet that emits strong XUV and X-ray radiation. Spatial, temporal, and x-ray emission of the layer gives a time evolution of the reconnection layer. Measurements of optical emission from the wire-array ablation and the outflows of the reconnection layer, the inflows to the reconnection layer can be characterized giving insight into the energy balance.

 

*SNL is managed and operated by NTESS under DOE NNSA contract DE-NA0003525