Atomic and radiative processes in X-Ray driven plasma ablation experiments performed on the MAGPIE pulsed-power generator

We present results from a novel experimental platform [1] in which the x-rays from a wire array Z-pinch are used to irradiate a silicon target, producing an outflow of ablated plasma. The plasma expands into ambient B-fields (∼5 T). The outflows have a well-defined (quasi-1D) morphology, enabling the study of fundamental processes typically only accessible in more integrated experiments.

Experiments were fielded on the MAGPIE generator (1.4 MA, 240 ns rise time). On this machine, a wire array Z-pinch produces an x-ray pulse carrying a total energy of ∼15 kJ over ∼30 ns. This equates to a brightness temperature of ∼ 10 eV on-target. The plasmas were diagnosed with a suite of diagnostics including interferometry, Faraday rotation, Thomson scattering [2], and x-ray absorption spectroscopy.

Initial results indicate that the charge state distribution in the plasma is perturbed by the presence of the driving radiation field. We also note that radiative cooling plays a role in determining the structures observed in collisions of ablated plasma flows.

[1] J W D Halliday et al PoP 2022 DOI: 10.1063/5.0084550

[2] L G Suttle et al RSI 2021 DOI: 10.1063/5.0041118