The magneto-Rayleigh–Taylor instability in dynamic z pinches

Abstract

The magneto-Rayleigh–Taylor (MRT) instability limits the performance of dynamic z pinches. This instability develops at the plasma-vacuum/field interface, growing in amplitude throughout the implosion, thereby reducing the peak plasma velocity and spatial uniformity at stagnation. MRT instabilities are believed to play a dominant role in the case of high wire number arrays, gas puffs and foils. In this article, the MRT instability is discussed in terms of initial seeding, linear and nonlinear growth, experimental evidence, radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations, and mitigating schemes. A number of experimental results are presented, where the mitigating schemes have been realized. In general, the problem is inherently three dimensional, but two-dimensional simulations together with theory and experiment enhance our physical understanding and provide insight into future load design.