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Valenzuela-Villaseca V, Suttle LG, Suzuki-Vidal F, Halliday JWD, Merlini S, Russell DR, Tubman ER, Hare JD, Chittenden JP, Koepke ME, Blackman EG, Lebedev SV. Characterization of Quasi-Keplerian, Differentially Rotating, Free-Boundary Laboratory Plasmas. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 130:195101. [PMID: 37243644 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.130.195101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
We present results from pulsed-power driven differentially rotating plasma experiments designed to simulate physics relevant to astrophysical disks and jets. In these experiments, angular momentum is injected by the ram pressure of the ablation flows from a wire array Z pinch. In contrast to previous liquid metal and plasma experiments, rotation is not driven by boundary forces. Axial pressure gradients launch a rotating plasma jet upward, which is confined by a combination of ram, thermal, and magnetic pressure of a surrounding plasma halo. The jet has subsonic rotation, with a maximum rotation velocity 23±3 km/s. The rotational velocity profile is quasi-Keplerian with a positive Rayleigh discriminant κ^{2}∝r^{-2.8±0.8} rad^{2}/s^{2}. The plasma completes 0.5-2 full rotations in the experimental time frame (∼150 ns).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - L G Suttle
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom
| | - F Suzuki-Vidal
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom
| | - J W D Halliday
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom
| | - S Merlini
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom
| | - D R Russell
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom
| | - E R Tubman
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom
| | - J D Hare
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom
| | - J P Chittenden
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom
| | - M E Koepke
- Department of Physics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
| | - E G Blackman
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA
| | - S V Lebedev
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom
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