Development of diagnostics of magnetic fields of z-pinch plasmas
Abstract
X-pinches produce a small, bright x-ray source with a well-defined location and generate strong electron beams, which make them attractive objects for x-ray spectropolarimetry. The results of x-ray spectropolarimetry of Ti and Mo x-pinches were reported at the previous meeting. It was shown that this new diagnostic (based on simultaneous measurements of x-ray spectra with two spectrometers with different sensitivity to polarization by electron beams) could provide information about a non-Maxwellian part of the electron distribution function. In general, x-ray line polarization is sensitive not only to the electron distribution function but also to the magnetic field. The magnetic fields in x-pinches were recently estimated to be of the order up to few thousands of T but were not measured yet. In the present work, the possibility of using x-ray spectropolarimetry for measurements of magnetic fields in dense hot x-pinch plasmas is explored. Specifically, sensitivity of polarization of K-shell and L-shell spectral lines to the magnetic field is studied and the best candidates for magnetic field measurements are identified. The design of the new x-ray spectropolarimetry experiments involving the measurements of magnetic fields is proposed and discussed. The standard two spectrometer technique is overviewed and in addition the new three spectrometer measurements are proposed. This work was supported by DOE-NNSA/NV cooperative agreement DE-FC08-01NV14050.
- Publication:
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APS Division of Plasma Physics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- October 2003
- Bibcode:
- 2003APS..DPPLP1155K