Recent pulsed-power driven HED plasma experiments on the MAGPIE facility

We present results from recent plasma experiments conducted at the MAGPIE pulsed-power generator (1.4 MA peak-current, 240 ns rise-time) [1]. These plasmas are characterized by long-lasting, multiply-ionized, supersonic flows (M~2-10) in the presence of strong magnetic fields (B~1-5 T), generated by the current drive, making them suitable for studying HED processes including shocks, reconnection, instability growth and radiative phenomena.

A comprehensive suite of spatially and temporally resolved diagnostics are used to extensively probe the HED plasmas [2]. These diagnostics include self-emission imaging (optical and XUV), laser interferometry (355 nm and 532 nm wavelength), Faraday rotation imaging (1053 nm wavelength), and collective optical Thomson Scattering (532 nm wavelength, 2 J) [3].

Recent experimental campaigns have been focused on studying magnetized quasi-perpendicular shocks [4], X-ray ablated silicon plasmas [5], quasi-Keplerian rotating plasma flows [6], evidence of non-thermal ion heating in Thomson spectra from magnetic reconnection experiments, and the role radiation physics plays in determining the structure of colliding plasma flows comprised of mid-Z elements.

[1] I. H. Mitchell et al. RSI 76, 1533 (1996)

[2] G. F. Swadling et al. RSI 85, 11E502 (2014)

[3] L. G. Suttle et al., RSI 92, 033542(2021)

[3] D. R. Russell et al., arXiv:2201.09039 (2022)

[4] J. W. D. Halliday et al., PoP 29, 042107(2022)

[5] V. Valenzuela-Villaseca, et al., arXiv:2201.10339 (2022)