Staged Z-pinch Simulations for the UNR, Nevada Terawatt Zebra Facility

We simulate a Staged Z-pinch$\footnote{H. U. Rahman, F. J. Wessel, and N. Rostoker. Staged Z-pinch. PRL, 74:714, 1995}$ imploded on the 1 MA, 130 ns, 100 kJ, Nevada Terawatt Zebra Facility. The load is a magnetized, cylindrical, double gas-puff, plasma liner imploding onto a plasma target. Simulations use the 2-1/2 D, radiation-MHD code, MACH2. Three different liner gases are evaluated: Ar, Kr, and Xe and the target is either: DD, or DT, with a liner-plasma radius of: 1.0 cm and 2.0 cm, and a 5.0-mm thickness. Initial conditions are optimized to produce the highest neutron yield. Shocks propagate at different speeds in the liner and target, leading to a shock front at the interface. Magnetosonic shock waves pre-heat the target plasma and provide a stable implosion. The shock front provides a secondary conduction channel which builds up during implosion. The axial magnetic field controls the MRT instability and traps $\alpha$-particles, leading to ignition. Magnetic flux is compressed, and at peak parameters the magnetic field and current density exceed, by an order of magnitude, values outside the pinch, providing a magneto-inertial confinement. A smaller radius provides $10^{2}-10^{3} \times$ higher neutron yield.