Observation of Self-Generated Plasma Rotation and its Effects in A Z-Pinch With Preembedded Axial Magnetic Field

Abstract

Z-pinches with preembedded magnetic field $\left({{B_{{z^0}}}}\right)$ undergo radial implosion due to the J × B force while compressing the plasma and the embedded magnetic flux. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time a self-generated plasma rotation for a cylindrical Z-pinch implosion with ${B_{{z^0}}}$ [1] . The rotation direction is found to depend on the direction of ${B_{{z^0}}}$ . The observed rotation velocity is found to be comparable to the implosion velocity. The rotation is found to affect the implosion dynamics by exerting a centrifugal force and by mitigating plasma instabilities. The evolution of the rotation is seen to be consistent with magnetic flux surface isorotation, a novel observation in a Z pinch, which is a prototypical time-dependent system.