Magnetized plasma jets in experiment and simulation

This research focuses on the initial ablation phase of a thing (20 micron) Al foil driven on the 1MA-in-100ns COBRA through a 5mm diameter cathode in a radial configuration. In these experiments, ablated surface plasma (ASP) on the top of the foil and a strongly collimated axial plasma jet can be observed developing midway through current-rise. Our goal is to establish the relationship between the ASP and the jet. These jets are of interest for their potential relevance to astrophysical phenomena. An independently pulsed 200$\mu$F capacitor bank with a Helmholtz coil pair allows for the imposition of a slow (150$\mu$s) and strong ($\sim$1T) axial magnetic field on the experiment. Application of this field eliminates significant azimuthal asymmetry in extreme ultraviolet emission of the ASP. This asymmetry is likely a current filamentation instability. Laser-backlit shadowgraphy and interferometry confirm that the jet-hollowing is correlated with the application of the axial magnetic field. Visible spectroscopic measurements show a doppler shift consistent with an azimuthal velocity in the ASP caused by the applied B-field. Computational simulations with the XMHD code PERSEUS qualitatively agree with the experimental results.