Study of Z-pinch Magnetic Fields and Sources of MeV Ions via Ion Deflectometry

In the deuterium gas-puff MA Z-pinch experiments on GIT-12, >30 MeV hydrogen ion beams are detected. Pinhole detectors show that the fast ions originate from annular sources. Ion deflectometry is used to investigate B-fields and ion sources by simulating deflected ion trajectories in Z-pinch plasmas. Analysis and interpretation of experimental and synthetic pinhole images demonstrate effects of magnetic fields and ion beam divergence. Thus, the spatial distribution of the ion source and magnitude of the averaged magnetic field are estimated.