Experiments with shocks in supersonic gas jets in strong magnetic fields produced by the 1 MA pulsed power generator

The 1 MA Zebra pulsed power machine at UNR generates magnetic fields in the range of 1-4 MG. A supersonic gas jet is available for experiments at the Zebra machine. We present spectroscopic experiments with gas jets in 2-3 MG fields produced by rod loads and experiments with generation of laser-produced shocks in a gas medium. A Leopard and Tomcat lasers coupled with the Zebra generator can produces a shock wave in a gas jet. Formation and development of shocks in nitrogen and argon jets were studied with two-frame schlieren and shadowgraphy diagnostics at wavelengths of 532 and 266 nm.